Far apart but close at heart: How do arts organisations in Latin America support the mental health of young people online during a global pandemic?

背景研究表明，流行病会引发精神痛苦（包括抑郁和焦虑），特别是在年轻人中。COVID-19大流行给年轻人的心理健康带来了紧迫的问题，特别是那些生活在大城市并已经面临与心理健康状况不佳相关的挑战的年轻人。社区艺术组织通过支持年轻人使用特定艺术形式，在促进心理健康方面发挥着至关重要的作用。通过目前的研究，我们与四个拉丁美洲国家（阿根廷，巴西，哥伦比亚和秘鲁）的五个艺术组织建立了密切的联系。2019冠状病毒病大流行及随之而来的社交距离措施迫使这些组织将其活动转移到网上，以确保他们在这一危机时期继续支持弱势青年。这种持续的情况提供了一个理想的机会，研究艺术组织如何重新发明他们的计划，在全球流行期间继续支持年轻人。这包括研究这些变化对艺术工作者的影响，以及年轻人如何体验这种与同龄人、艺术组织和社区联系的新方式。（布宜诺斯艾利斯、里约热内卢、博戈塔和利马）正在利用在线平台在全球大流行期间支持年轻人的心理健康，以及年轻人和艺术工作者如何体验这种变化。具体而言，我们的目标是：1）研究艺术组织如何因COVID-19大流行和社交距离措施而调整其活动以使用在线平台2）探索艺术工作者如何体验这种向在线活动的转变3）探索参与者（18-24岁）如何体验这种向在线活动的转变4）了解年轻人如何应对COVID-19大流行期间他们的生活变化5）建立社区艺术组织的研究能力6）加强拉丁美洲五个社区艺术组织的现有网络方法六个不同的活动将实现项目的目的和目标。我们将收集数据，以研究每个艺术团体如何因COVID-19封锁而将其活动转移到网上（活动1），包括如何设置和使用活动。我们将使用常规可用的记录和采访艺术组织的关键人物。在每个艺术团体，我们会与持份者和艺术工作者进行10次访谈（活动2），并与该机构的参与者进行10次访谈（活动3），询问他们如何经历向网上活动的转变。一项有更多参与者参加的在线调查将探讨访谈中提出的具体经验。每个艺术组织将根据特定的艺术形式举办一个有5-10名参与者的创意研讨会（活动4）。这些工作坊将制作创意作品，如数码剧、说唱或舞蹈，讲述年轻人的经历，讲述COVID-19和社交距离措施如何影响他们的生活，以及他们如何应对。我们将在必要时培训艺术组织的研究人员（活动5），并支持现有的组织网络继续分享知识和经验（活动6）。预期成果该项目将产生新的知识，帮助艺术组织和其他类似组织应对未来的紧急情况，以便他们能够无缝地继续支持年轻人的心理健康，即使是在全球流行病的情况下。由于我们预计这些变化将在疫情消退后继续，因此，我们的研究结果将为艺术机构未来如何促进心理健康提供信息，以减轻年轻人常见精神障碍的负担。我们将传播研究结果和创造性成果，以确保在我们的伙伴国家和其他地区产生广泛影响和受益者。

BackgroundResearch shows that pandemics can trigger mental distress (including depression and anxiety) particularly in young people. The COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent problem for mental health in young people, especially those living in large cities and already facing challenges linked to poor mental health. Community arts organisations play a vital role in promoting mental wellbeing, by supporting young people using specific art forms. Through current research, we have formed strong links with five arts organisations in four Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru). The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting social distancing measures have forced these organisations to move their activities online to ensure that they continue to support vulnerable young people through this time of crisis. This ongoing situation provides an ideal opportunity to study how arts organisations are re-inventing their programmes to continue supporting young people during a global pandemic. This includes examining the impact of these changes on arts workers, and how young people are experiencing this new way of connecting with their peers, arts organisations and communities.ObjectivesThe overall aim is to explore how arts organisations (in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Bogotá and Lima) are using online platforms to support the mental health of young people during a global pandemic, and how young people and arts workers experience this change. Specifically, we aim to:1) Examine how arts organisations have adapted their activities to use online platforms due to COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures2) Explore how this shift to online activities is experienced by art workers3) Explore how this shift to online activities is experienced by participants (aged 18-24)4) Understand how young people are dealing with the changes in their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic5) Build research capacity in community arts organisations6) Strengthen an existing network of five community arts organisations in Latin AmericaMethodsSix distinct activities will address the project aim and objectives. We will collect data to examine how each arts organisation has moved their activities online due to the COVID-19 lockdown (Activity 1), including how activities were set up and used. We will use routinely available records and interviews with key people in the arts organisations. At each arts organisation, we will conduct 10 interviews with stakeholders and arts workers (Activity 2), and 10 interviews with participants of the organisation (Activity 3), asking how they have experienced the shift to online activities. An online survey with a larger number of participants will explore specific experiences raised in the interviews. Each arts organisation will implement a creative workshop with 5-10 participants (Activity 4) based on a specific art form. These workshops will produce a creative output, such as a digital play, a rap, or choreography, to narrate young people's experiences of how COVID-19 and social distancing measures affected their lives and how they dealt with this. We will train researchers from arts organisations where necessary (Activity 5), and support this existing network of organisations to continue sharing knowledge and experiences (Activity 6).Expected resultsThis project will lead to new knowledge that will help arts organisations and others like them, to respond to future emergencies so that they can seamlessly continue to support the mental health of young people, even through a global pandemic. As we expect that these changes will continue when the pandemic subsides, our findings will therefore inform how arts organisations promote mental wellbeing into the future to reduce the burden of common mental disorders for young people. We will disseminate the findings and creative outputs to ensure wide impact and beneficiaries in our partner countries and beyond.