Surgo Health Announces Commitment to Build Youth Mental Health Tracker in Partnership with Pivotal Ventures and MTV Entertainment Studios at Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2023 Meeting

The Youth Mental Health Tracker (YMHT) will unearth holistic insights that guide actionable solutions aimed at uplifting and empowering our youth.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Surgo Health, a technology company that aims to revolutionize healthcare by understanding human behavior on an individual level, today announced a commitment to develop the first, novel Youth Mental Health Tracker (YMHT) that holistically captures the intricate landscape of youth mental health at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2023 Meeting. With funding and communications support from MTV Entertainment Studios (MTVE) and Pivotal Ventures, the YMHT by Surgo Health will leverage new data and analysis of the actions, experiences, and support systems that impact youth well-being.

As a featured Commitment to Action, the YMHT project will weave together equity-forward surveys, contextual data, social media insights, and personal narratives to uncover key insights that will help drive equitable change toward a future where youth mental health is prioritized and nurtured. MTVE, Pivotal Ventures, and Surgo Health will collaborate to ensure that the data made available through the YMHT reaches key stakeholders that can influence youth mental health outcomes, including policymakers, advocates, educational institutions, and direct service providers.

Over the past 15 years, youth suicide rates have surged, while cases of depression have doubled, casting a sobering shadow over the aspirations of our younger generation. This crisis is further exacerbated among marginalized youth populations, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+ youth, and youth experiencing poverty, who disproportionately bear the brunt of mental health disparities. Addressing the current youth mental health crisis requires an understanding of who is most affected, where those individuals are, and why they are most affected.

Surgo Health will develop the YMHT with a prioritization on leveraging novel, sociobehavioral data to understand the experiences of marginalized groups and generate impactful insights to reduce inequities. Using a multi-pronged approach, Surgo Health will launch a national survey to gain a holistic understanding of youth mental health, spearhead the organization of an inclusive youth advisory board, and establish a panel of prominent mental health experts to ensure all tracker approaches are rigorous, innovative, and inclusive.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Pivotal Ventures and MTV Entertainment Studios to drive equitable change for our youth," said Dr. Sema Sgaier, CEO & Co-Founder of Surgo Health. "Our hope is that the novel data and insights gleaned from our Youth Mental Health Tracker will pave the path forward to a future where younger generations feel empowered and supported in their mental health journeys."

Surgo Health's approach to addressing the youth mental health crisis through the Youth Mental Health Tracker is defined by a comprehensive, collaborative, and equity-driven strategy. Working hand-in-hand with Pivotal Ventures, MTVE, and other esteemed collaborators, Surgo Health aspires for the YMHT to serve not only as a data collection initiative, but as a strategic effort to shift the dialogue on mental health and well-being for young people. 

"This data initiative will be the first of its kind to capture the diverse lived experiences that contribute to youth well-being, with a focus on how our public systems can better support young people to thrive," said Kelsey Noonan, Adolescent Mental Health Lead at Pivotal Ventures.

The Youth Mental Health Tracker will take shape over a 4-year timeline. Over the course of that period, the project will evolve to include multiple surveys aimed at understanding how youth health changes over time, using social media and insights gleaned from the youth advisory and mental health expert boards to enrich key findings. Surgo Health plans to release regular public updates on YMHT learnings and data to ensure widespread awareness of pivotal discoveries.

"MTV Entertainment is committed to driving meaningful change in youth mental health through powerful storytelling, insights, and tools that move people from awareness toward action," said Noopur Agarwal, VP of Social Impact, MTV Entertainment Studios. "We are delighted to partner with Surgo Health and Pivotal Ventures on this groundbreaking tracker that will inform how we support and empower young people and their mental health." 

About Surgo Health

Surgo Health is a technology company and Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) that aims to revolutionize the effectiveness of healthcare by understanding people's behavior at the individual level. Surgo Health believes that a complete understanding of what drives people's behavior – and how their context impacts them – is critical to ensure every person lives a healthy life. The company's proprietary data and AI-novel technology platform creates the most comprehensive sociobehavioral profile of every person in every place, with products and solutions that can help its pharma and payer customers drive performance while improving outcomes, reducing cost and addressing inequities across the healthcare ecosystem. To learn more, visit https://www.surgohealth.com/.

About Pivotal Ventures

Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates company, expands opportunity and equality in the United States, by removing barriers that hold people back. Through investments, partnerships, and advocacy, we work with non-profit, private and public sector leaders and organizations, focusing on areas where social progress has stalled—and where we can have the biggest impact.

About MTV Entertainment Studios

MTV Entertainment Studios produces 120+ series annually, including some of today's biggest hits such as Yellowstone, Emily in Paris, 1923, 1883, George and Tammy, South Park, Tulsa King, The Daily Show, RuPaul's Drag Race, The Challenge and Jersey Shore, to name a few, as well as award-winning documentaries through its acclaimed MTV Documentary Films. MTV Entertainment uses its reach for social impact, spearheading broad change-driven coalitions, content and campaigns on mental health and civic engagement.

About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global and emerging leaders to create and implement solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. CGI works with partners to drive action through its unique model. Rather than directly implementing projects, CGI facilitates action by helping members connect, collaborate, and develop Commitments to Action — new, specific, and measurable plans that address global challenges. Through CGI, the community has made more than 3,900 Commitments to Action that have made a difference in the lives of more than 435 million people in more than 180 countries.

CONTACT: Kayleigh Winslow, [email protected]

SOURCE Surgo Health