Meet & Greet: Youth & Ageing with SBH

Meet & Greet: Youth & Ageing with SBH

Based on the needs of members, IF organised a ‘Meet and Greet’ meeting in May 2024 as part of the ongoing webinar series on Mental Health & Urological Management. This meeting aimed to facilitate a collaborative discussion between members of the IF International Youth Group SBH and the IF Working Group on Ageing with SBH, where there was the opportunity to share insights and perspectives on mental health and urological management. Furthermore, two upcoming webinars designed specifically for the youth and ageing groups later in the year were discussed.

The topic of mental health is important to the global SBH community. Little has been understood how it impacts the youth and ageing population. Previous activities from the IF secretariat showed that mental health is an important subject especially after the youth report in the COVID period, the knowledge gathering activities by the ageing working group on best practices, and the process in updating the pediatric urological guidelines together with healthcare professionals. To further investigate how we can better understand mental health in the context of our work, all members of the youth group and working group on ageing were invited to discuss what mental health means to the community.

In the introductory round, it became clear that both groups have a specific wish to learn from each other. For example, the members from the ageing working group mentioned the positive spirit youth has and would like to interact more to feel inspired in the work together. The youth on the other hand mentioned the need for role models and understanding ways to make mental health a topic people feel more easy to talk about, as well as to learn from different coping strategies. 

In summary, all members agreed it is worthwhile to meet each other on a more regular basis in order to learn from each other. The most important element for this interaction was underscored by the need of sharing best practices and joint advocacy. The common points of interest are as follows: 

• Understanding what mental health means to us
• Learning from each other through exchanges
• Sharing best practices among each other
• Putting the issue high on our advocacy agenda

From this meeting onwards, IF will continue to explore more interactive moments for both groups as well as to identify in a systematic way in what way mental health matters to the community. Both groups will further explore how the topic can be integrated into the awareness raising days and explore a joint webinar.