School is more than a place to learn: An intersectoral assessment of adolescent well-being prior to and after the COVID-19 pandemic in the WHO European Region
13:00 – 14:00 GMT, Wednesday 18th June 2025
Chaired by: Professor Ingrid Wolfe OBE, Professor of Paediatrics and Child Population Health, Consultant Paediatric Population Medicine, Kings College, London
Speakers:
- Dr. Nicola Gray, Co-Chair, UNESCO Chair ‘Global Health & Education’
- Mary Cronin, Specialty Registrar in Public Health
- Dr. Maximilian Limburg, Specialty Registrar in Public Health
A webinar supporting the development of a new WHO/UNICEF regional strategy for Child and Adolescent Health in Europe and Central Asia, as part of our Public Health in Practice Special Issue
This webinar will present a research study that examined changes in adolescent well-being across the WHO European Region following the Covid-19 pandemic. Adolescent well-being was assessed using the UN H6+ framework, which includes: 1) Good health and optimal nutrition, 2) Connectedness, positive values, and societal contribution, 3) Safety and a supportive environment, 4) Learning, competence, education, skills, and employability, and 5) Agency and resilience. Secondary analysis of data from two large datasets concerning adolescents, the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Survey and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), revealed a decline in well-being across European countries from 2018 (pre-pandemic) to 2022 (post-pandemic). Additionally, the study highlighted a significant widening of educational inequalities in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Key Issues for Debate:
- How can we prevent existing inequalities in educational attainment from widening?
- How can we improve our data collection strategies about school closure impact for future health crises?
- What would an intersectoral strategy on adolescent well-being look like, to minimize the impact of future emergency measures?
