Brain, mind and psychosis: Engaging young people in learning about research

Great progress has been made over the past few years in "destigmatising" mental illness and this has been particularly successful for conditions such as depression and anxiety. However there still remains a great lack of knowledge about psychosis. This lack of knowledge can lead to stigma and fear and can prevent young people coming forward to seek help for psychotic symptoms in a timely fashion. In this KEDS award we will create an educational resource about psychosis for use in secondary schools. We will create a series of short videos with a dedicated website and background reading material. The videos will centre on the topic of psychosis, giving information about the rates of these symptoms and the risk factors. We will also broaden the topic by focussing on how we can study the structure and function of the brain by using neuroimaging. As well as increasing knowledge and reducing stigma we hope that this KEDS award will stimulate the interest of young people in pursuing science as a career by showing Irish researchers who are carrying out work on young people in Ireland . The educational resource created by this KEDS award is very feasible and sustainable and will fit well into the new Junior Cert Curriculum on "The Nature of Science".

 

Award Date
28 September 2017
Award Value
€31850
Principal Investigator
Professor Mary McCarron
Host Institution
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Scheme
Knowledge Exchange and Dissemination Scheme