The 2020 Youth Health Forum (YHF) was created to make young people’s ideas and experiences part of our national discussions about services for young Australians.
Healthcare professionals across Australia have long recognised the problem of young people falling through the gaps of a health system that wasn’t designed for them.
In March 2021, The Youth Health Forum Report, “Life Transitions and Youth Pathways to Health Services” was produced, based on the discussions, insights and ideas of YHF delegates.
“A total of 1,416 young people completed surveys and 35 young people participated in in-depth interviews over 12-months.
A spokesperson for the Youth Health Forum, Roxxanne MacDonald, said the report showed there was a unique opportunity to establish health for life by equipping young people with the tools they needed to get help when they need it, and by supporting young people to speak up about how they can live their healthiest possible lives.
‘’While most participants rated their health as being ‘good’ or ‘excellent, almost half reported high or very high psychological distress. The young people in the studies identified multiple barriers to accessing health services, with cost being at the top of the list.”, Ms Donald said.
The CEO of the Consumers Health Forum, Leanne Wells, said youth health was different from health at other ages.
“In youth, there is a unique opportunity to establish health for life by equipping young people with the tools they need to get help when they need it and support them in living health lives. To realise this opportunity, to turn it into reality, requires a shift in thinking away from negative stereotypes about young people and a commitment to move beyond ‘business as usual’.
“We need to reinvent young people’s healthcare, remove the stigma and inequity that prevents them from getting the support they need, and instead champion their strengths and their insights.”
The report was produced by the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) and the Wellbeing Health & Youth (WH&Y), National Health and Medical Research Council – NHMRC and supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Health.
The media release and full report can be viewed here https://chf.org.au/media-releases/helping-young-people-get-best-health
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Prioritising Oral Health in Aged Care and Disability Support
Leonie Short is a Dental Practitioner and Dental Therapist. She started working as a dental therapist in Rural NSW and then moved into being an academic and researcher. Through her career, Leonie has worked at 6 universities across New South Wales and Queensland, and remaining community focused.
Leonie’s mission is to have improved oral health experiences and outcomes, however she recognises, the health system really needs to work hard to make it happen and for people to understand why it needs to be a priority.
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Job-ready clinical trial interns
The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Alliance, or VCCC Alliance for short, is a Victorian partnership of 10 research, academic and clinical institutions looking at improving cancer outcomes for patients.
The VCCC Alliance SKILLED clinical trial internships program is a pathway for scientists to build role-specific clinical trial knowledge, experience and in a clinical trials unit through theoretical and on-the-job training. The internship program is a 40 week intensive program to get science student interns job ready for clinical trial assistant and study coordinator internship roles.
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Awareness campaigns and HCP Toolkits for thyroid health
In 2021, the Australian Thyroid Foundation released analysis to show, well over 1 million Australian are living with an undiagnosed thyroid disorder, including thyroid cancer, lower IQs, lifelong disability, and a causal or possible contributory factor – in the development of other neurological disorders such as ADHD and autism. Some of the challenges for diagnosis and treatment can be addressed by producing material for health care practitioners during patient presentations.
‘Recent statistics show well over 1 million Australians are living with an undiagnosed thyroid disorder, awareness and testing can prevent unwarranted outcomes for mothers and their babies’ says ATF CEO Beverley Garside OAM
The Australian Thyroid Foundation has lodged a Pre-Budget Submission for the Federal Budget 2024-25 to counter increasing misinformation on social media creating dietary deficiencies such as an increasing number of young women, who are planning pregnancy or already pregnant opting for plant based milks such almond, soy or oat milk coffee as an alternative to standard cow’s milk, which is a source of iodine and alternate milks do not include.
