In 2001, 76 per cent of young Australians aged between 15-17 years and 59 per cent of those aged between 18-24 years rated their health as excellent or very good. Just over 80 per cent of young people were delighted, pleased or mostly satisfied with their quality of life, with only four per cent seeing their lives as unsatisfactory, unhappy or terrible.
Injuries are relatively common and are the leading cause of young people’s going to hospital. Transport accidents and intentional self harm are the most common causes of death with skin cancer, the most common form of cancer.
The mortality rate for Indigenous young people is three times higher than the overall population.
In 2004, there were 3,387 mothers aged 12-19 years, constituting four per cent of all mothers. Of all indigenous mothers, 21.4 per cent were aged between 12-19 years.
What we know
What we are doing
What we will do
What we know
We know that young people value their health and wellbeing and adolescence is often a time of optimal health.
During this time some young people may begin to develop behaviour patterns that may cause harm in the long run. Adolescence can also be the time when certain problems, such as mental health issues, first appear.
Adolescence is an ideal time to address health issues before they become a problem and to intervene early for individuals with signs or symptoms of a health problem.
The Youth Action Plan places special emphasis helping young people make good choices in relation to:
- mental health
- drugs, tobacco and alcohol
- sexual health
- nutrition, weight and exercise
- pregnancy and parenthood.
These areas overlap with the State Plan’s focus on mental health; smoking and risk drinking; and nutrition, weight and exercise for the overall community.
We recognise that young people want services and programs that meet their needs, are youth-friendly, culturally appropriate, accessible and respect their privacy.
To ensure that this occurs, the NSW Government will continue to involve young people in the planning and development of health and other government services.
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What we are doing
We are building on the successful programs that came from the NSW Youth Alcohol Action Plan (2001-2005), the Drug Summit and the Childhood Obesity Summit to provide health services that aim to meet young people’s diverse health needs.
We are continuing to help disadvantaged young people through programs such as Innovative Health Services for Homeless Youth, and youth-specific mental health, drug and alcohol services. Experts in young people’s health, such as the Centre for the Advancement of Adolescent Health, will help advise us on our programs.
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What we will do:
Mental Health
19. The Government will focus on delivering mental health services that are accessible and relevant to young people. Of particular importance will be increasing the support for young people experiencing difficulties at school. We will develop an early intervention Youth Mental Health Service Model to provide a seamless, multidisciplinary services for young people aged 14-24 years of age with mental health problems and disorders. Using this approach, we will provide early access for young people to a range of health services, such as general practitioners, drug and alcohol workers and mental health workers, in a one stop shop. We will also implement youth-specific initiatives under the NSW Suicide Prevention Strategy.
Drugs, Tobacco and Alcohol
20. We will provide young people with information about the dangers of smoking, risky drinking and illicit drug use through initiatives such as Play Now/Act Now – a peer education initiative about drugs and alcohol. We will develop a new Youth Alcohol Action Plan and continue successful anti-smoking campaigns. Programs will provide targeted information about specific drugs, such as methamphetamine, ecstasy and GHB. We will also improve access to HIV and hepatitis prevention services among those young people who inject drugs.
Sexual Health
21. We will work with general practitioners and sexual health services to improve young people’s access to sexual health services. We will continue our sexual health promotion activities, and will work with the Department of Education and Training to ensure young people continue to have access to effective sexual health education programs.
Nutrition, weight and exercise
22. We will encourage healthy eating and physical activity to help manage young people’s weight and prevent obesity. We will support a range of activities that act on the recommendations of the 2004 NSW Schools Physical and Nutrition Survey. We will also continue the NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy in schools to promote healthy, nutritious food options and to limit the sale of foods and drinks that are high in saturated fats, added sugars and salt.
Pregnancy and Parenthood
23. We will support youth-specific health services providing information and health care to young pregnant women and young parents. This includes providing youth-friendly, culturally appropriate, and respectful antenatal care with improved access to midwifery services. In mainstream maternal, child and family health services we will promote a youth-friendly culture to ensure that young pregnant women and young parents receive the best care and support.
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