New centre of excellence to promote early childhood mental health

The number of children experiencing mental health problems is increasing globally. At least 16 per cent of children in Denmark will experience a mental health problem before the age of 10. For children growing up in families with lower socioeconomic status the prevalence is almost the double. 

This calls for more systematic initiatives in municipalities to early identify and initiate preventive interventions for children who either have mental health problems or are at risk of developing them.

In response to the challenges, a new Centre of Excellence in Early Intervention and Family Studies will promote early childhood mental health (ECMH) and social equity by contributing to the establishment of national standards for evidence-based, high-quality assessment of ECMH and effective interventions. The centre will work across all municipalities in Denmark and with a vision to be at the forefront of international research on ECMH.

"Research shows that it is much more effective to help children and their families before problems develop and may turn into vicious circles. At the same time, the centre aims to promote the general well-being of young children and raise the awareness of  the significance of early childhood development for lifelong mental health," says Professor Mette Væver, who will be the director of the new centre.

The centre of excellence will be established as an enhancement of the existing Centre for Early Intervention and Family Research at the Department of Psychology. This will be done in close collaboration with the National Institute of Public Health at the University of Southern Denmark, and the centre will be based at both locations. It is supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, TrygFonden and Ole Kirk's Foundation (see fact box).

Translating  knowledge into practice

At the heart of the new centre's work will be the development and implementation of systematic and standardised  measures in municipalities that enable early intervention.

Specifically, the centre will promote mental health in 0–5-year-olds by

• Developing, evaluating and implementing tools for early detection of risk
• Developing, evaluating and implementing early childhood mental health promotion and prevention programmes
• Contributing to capacity building in the field
• Sharing evidence-based knowledge and contributing to policy development

These efforts will be carried out in collaboration with municipalities, professionals and other organisations and research centres and groups. A cornerstone will be the collaboration with all professionals meeting the 0-5 year olds and their families in their everyday lives .

Some interventions will be new, while others will build on existing interventions developed by the centre. The aim is to reduce social inequalities in early childhood mental health and to collaborate  with municipalities in the existing work of systematically identifying children who show early signs of mental health problems. This to initiate early help for the children and their families.

Partnership between two universities

Moreover, a 'centre of excellence' signals an ambition to be at the forefront of international research.

"It is crucial that we conduct ambitious research that documents how we best translate the latest research-based knowledge into practice in close collaboration with the professionals who have daily contact with children and their families. And that we continuously ensure the quality  and develop our early childhood mental health practices," says Mette Væver.

The partnership between researchers from the Centre for Early Intervention and Family Research and the National Institute of Public Health (SIF) plays a key role because it will create new synergies between psychological research and public health research.

"At SIF, we have extensive expertise in areas such as children's health, registry research and intervention research, which we look forward to bringing together with the centre's psychological expertise. It takes an interdisciplinary perspective to create knowledge that benefits children and their families," says Morten Hulvej Rod, Professor and Director of SIF.

Head of Department Annemarie Olsen, Department of Psychology, also emphasises the practical dimension:

"Here at the institute, we place great emphasis on translating knowledge into practice. We therefore have high expectations for the initiatives of the centre and the positive impact the work will have on young children and their families."

The Centre of Excellence in Early Intervention and Family Studies will formally open in spring 2025 with a conference aimed at professionals and other partners.