In a major advancement for adolescent mental health in India, The George Institute for Global Health India has demonstrated the effectiveness of a scalable, community-based care model through Project ARTEMIS, the country’s first large-scale intervention focused on adolescents living in urban slums.

The study—Adolescents’ Resilience and Treatment nEeds for Mental Health in Indian Slums (ARTEMIS)—was implemented across 60 slum communities in New Delhi and Vijayawada, targeting mental health challenges among socio-economically vulnerable adolescents.

The project combined a digital mental health screening system with community-led anti-stigma campaigns, aiming to improve early identification and access to care. It reached over 70,000 adolescents through awareness and engagement activities, with 3,739 adolescents enrolled in the study.

Nearly 47.1% were identified as high-risk for common mental disorders, while around 86% of high-risk participants in the intervention group accessed care from trained primary healthcare providers.

According to Dr Sandhya Kanaka Yatirajula, Program Lead – Mental Health, the project highlighted lived experiences of adolescents dealing with academic pressure, peer relationships, gender norms, parental expectations, and uncertainty about the future.

Prof Pallab Maulik, Director of Research at The George Institute India and Principal Investigator, said the model worked on two fronts; community-based anti-stigma campaigns and a digital screening and referral system that enabled early detection and treatment of high-risk adolescents.

The study involved collaborators from leading institutions including AIIMS New Delhi, King’s College London, University of New South Wales, University of Toronto, University of Hyderabad, and others.