6 May, 2026. To mark European Mental Health Week 2026, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) published an official overview of landmark EU-funded projects. Among the most significant initiatives under the Horizon Europe programme, the agency highlighted the BootStRaP project for its vital work in addressing adolescent mental health and preventing Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI).
This year’s European Mental Health Week theme, “Stronger Together: Prioritise Mental Health in a Changing Europe”, emphasizes that lasting progress depends on partnerships and policies that put people first. In its publication, HaDEA underscores its commitment to investing in projects that translate high-level policy into tangible, real-world results for citizens.
HaDEA Commends BootStRaP’s Milestones
The European Commission’s publication officially recognized and commended the early phases and key findings of the BootStRaP project:

A Successful First Phase: HaDEA highlighted the successful completion of our initial assessment phase, which engaged over 1,800 students from more than 40 schools across nine European countries. The initial data revealed a pressing issue: more than a third of the surveyed adolescents reported difficulties controlling their use of digital technology.

Impact on Digital Governance: the agency specifically noted BootStRaP’s policy analysis, which uncovered significant legislative gaps concerning adolescent mental health. This recognition highlights the urgent need to integrate youth mental health considerations directly into European digital governance.

On the Path to 10,000 Students

While the initial 1,800 participants provided a crucial baseline, the project is rapidly scaling up. BootStRaP’s ultimate goal is to assess a massive cohort of 10,000 students across Europe to build a definitive, data-driven understanding of PUI. The project has already moved into its next phase, recruiting over 3,000 students to test its new digital interventions.

This feature in the official European Commission (HaDEA) publication underscores the relevance of the BootStRaP consortium’s ongoing research and data-gathering efforts to improve the well-being of the digital generation.

🔗 Read the full HaDEA review here:
European Mental Health Week 2026: Discover EU-funded projects making mental health a priority
Visuals: from the article website hadea.ec.europa.eu/news.
BootStRaP communication team information