TAL has announced the launch of an online preventative health program named BEACN, to help people personally navigate their mental wellbeing.
The tool was developed by TAL’s Innovation team and research partner, University of Sydney Brain and Mind Centre.
BEACN helps people identify contributing risk factors to their mental wellbeing and provides specific recommendations to address these risk factors while supporting their overall wellbeing.
TAL General Manager, Member Engagement & Innovation, Dan Taylor, says BEACN provides TAL’s superannuation fund partners with a tool that aims to help their member base achieve two things: to become more aware of their mental health and minimise the impact of mental health conditions.
“With one in two Australians affected by a mental health condition in their lifetime, TAL is focused on how we can empower people to proactively manage their mental wellbeing,” he said.
“…one in two Australians [are] affected by a mental health condition in their lifetime…”
When members use BEACN, they will be guided through a short questionnaire which will give them a current mental wellbeing score.
TAL explained that based on their responses, members will be provided with evidence-based resources from trusted organisations such as Hello Sunday Morning to help them self-manage and improve their mental health outcomes. Members can also choose to anonymously contribute to research conducted by the University of Sydney’s Brain & Mind Centre around the mental wellbeing of Australians.
It confirmed that BEACN has initially launched with one of TAL’s superannuation fund partners, UniSuper, and it will continue to evolve and extend to other superannuation fund partners in future.
UniSuper CEO, Kevin O’Sullivan, said, “We welcome this initiative and are delighted to be able to offer this service to our members. BEACN adds new levels of engagement to the insurance process, while supporting and enhancing the mental wellbeing of our members.”
Taylor added: “We see firsthand the impact mental health conditions can have on our superannuation fund partners’ members, and we want to support them by providing practical, evidence-based resources.
“An abundance of tools and applications exist that target mental health, and our research showed that people find it challenging to understand which resources are evidence-based and the most relevant for them,” he said.
