Co-producing digital mental health supports with marginalised young people: exploring needs through creative workshops in Ireland

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Disclaimer: This is a non-peer-reviewed version of an article submitted to the special issue: Advances in Digital Interventions and AI for Mental Health & Wellbeing in Behaviour & Information TechnologyIntroductionThis study investigates how technology can enhance access, address needs, and improve mental health outcomes for marginalised young people on the island of Ireland. While digital supports can reach underserved groups, uptake is limited when tools are not co-produced with youth. The research aimed to identify mental health challenges and needs, explore currently used digital resources, and generate policy and practice recommendations.Materials and MethodsUsing the Design Council’s co-production framework, creative workshops and interviews-involving photo-elicitation methods- were conducted. Young people aged 16–25 from marginalised backgrounds shared their experiences with mental health, their needs, and perspectives on digital resources. Visual content was either curated by the team through youth input or created by participants themselves to prompt discussion. Narratives accompanying these visuals formed the primary data and were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.ResultsDigital tools and platforms were viewed as both supportive and potentially undermining mental health. Benefits included supporting positive mental health, moderated peer support, and advocacy opportunities; risks involved privacy concerns, misinformation, and the impersonal nature of AI. Participants highlighted the need for culturally sensitive, youth-driven, and equity-focused interventions that link online resources to offline care, address systemic social and economic barriers, and foster safe, inclusive communities.DiscussionTechnology can meaningfully support marginalised young people’s mental health when co-designed with diverse youth and embedded within an equity-oriented system. Policy and practice recommendations include embedding inclusive co-production; developing culturally competent, gender-responsive, and intersectional resources; integrating digital supports with offline services; enhancing digital safeguarding; strengthening peer and community-based platforms; and using technology to enable meaningful youth participation in policymaking. Scalable, rights-based digital supports—aligned with national strategies in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland—can help build a more responsive, equitable mental health system.

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