IJPDS International Journal of Population Data Science

Researchers in South Africa have brought together mental health information from more than 6,200 adolescents and young adults to create a valuable new resource for understanding youth mental well-being. The data, collected between 2012 and 2022 in the KwaZulu-Natal region, offers an important tool for improving support for people aged 13–24. This work, published in the International Journal of Population Data Science (IJPDS), is expected to benefit researchers and policymakers who aim to strengthen mental health services for young people across Africa.

Mental health challenges among young people in Africa are becoming more common, yet many go unnoticed or untreated due to limited services. As the youth population continues to grow, it is increasingly important to understand the factors that influence their mental well-being. To address this need, researchers combined data from five existing HIV prevention studies with information from regular household surveys and clinic visits in the same communities. They carefully harmonised these different datasets into one unified format, making it easier to study how mental health changes over time. The combined dataset includes results from two established mental health screening tools that measure symptoms of depression, stress and emotional difficulties. Early results show that almost 13% of young people reported suicidal thoughts, and nearly a quarter showed signs of common mental disorders-highlighting a significant need for support among youth.

This resource provides a clearer picture of how mental health shifts as young people grow into adulthood and what social or health factors may shape these experiences. It will help guide future programmes and policies aimed at improving mental health support for adolescents and young adults. “Bringing these data together gives us a stronger understanding of what young people are facing”, said Nondumiso, a member of the research team. “We hope this work will contribute to better, more targeted mental health care for young people across the continent”.

 

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Dr Nondumiso Mthiyane, Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa

Mthiyane, N., Mkwanazi, E., Mwangala, P. N., Gareta, D., Dube, S., Herbst, K., Shahmanesh, M., Baisley, K. and Abubakar, A. (2025) “Data Resource Profile: Harmonization of a multimodal dataset to evaluate adolescent mental health in rural South Africa”, International Journal of Population Data Science, 8(6). doi: 10.23889/ijpds.v8i6.3003.