Princes get men talking about their mental health
Duke hails figures showing significant impact of Heads Together campaign as he unveils £2m fund
WHEN Prince Harry gave an extraordinarily frank interview about coping with his mother’s death earlier this year, he hoped to help “smash the stigma” and start a national conversation about mental health.
According to a national study published today, he did, and in some style. Research into Heads Together’s campaign has shown an estimated 1.2million more men spoke about their own mental health in May this year compared with three months earlier, all but closing the gap with women who have traditionally spoken more freely.
The findings, likened by the Duke of Cambridge to “exam results day”, showed the significant impact of the charity’s campaign, which included a series of videos showing celebrities speaking about their mental health, and the London Marathon. Today, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry announce the next phase of their mission: a £2million fund to help improve the nation’s mental health through technology.
Their Royal Foundation has confirmed its largest single grant yet, intended to develop a digital tool to help people find trusted information about their mental health and get help.
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The Duke said he h hoped it would help create a “metaphorical“met barrier” to catch peoplepeo who have otherwise missedmiss sufficient mental health treatment,t “to bring them into the fold and give them the help they need”. Speaking at theth Data Observatory at Imperial College London, the Duke praised a researchsear project to measuremea the successces of the Heads TogetherTog campaign,pai which cul- minated in the London Marathon.
Hailing the results as “fantastic”, he discussed how the information could now be used to help more people with mental health issues.
The study, of 14,000 people by YouGov noted a significant change in the public’s approach to mental health between February and May this year, when the Heads Together campaign was in full swing.
In particular, experts noted, the publicity arising from initiatives including the “OK To Say” videos and Prince Harry’s interview about his own mental health had almost closed the gap be- tween men and women, with men catching up with the conversation.
In February, 45 per cent of men and 52 per cent of women said they talked about their own mental health. By May, 60 per cent of men and 61 per cent of women had such discussions.
Pointing out the 68 per cent of people who said they can now talk to family about mental health, the Duke said: “At the beginning, we were trying to understand why at home people weren’t sharing some of their problems. If we’ve at least made a big impression there we can work on the wider societal aspects.”