Youth Health and Wellbeing: Inequalities

AREA OF STUDY 2: YOUTH HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Inequalities in Youth Health

Key Areas of Focus:

  • Improving youth health and wellbeing through data interpretation.

  • Analyzing specific youth health areas in detail.

Key Knowledge:

  • Identifying key areas needing health action based on health data.

  • Understanding government and non-government programs for youth health and wellbeing.

    Examining specific health focus areas related to Australia's youth, including:

    • Impact on different dimensions of health and wellbeing.

    • Data on incidence, prevalence, and trends.

    • Risk and protective factors.

    • Healthcare services and support.

    • Government and community programs and personal strategies to reduce negative impacts.

    • Direct, indirect, and intangible costs to individuals and communities.

    • Opportunities for youth advocacy and action to improve health outcomes and equity.

Why Invest in Youth Health?

Immediate Benefits:

  • Promoting protective factors and positive behaviors (good sleep, balanced diet, physical activity, constructive risk-taking).

  • Optimizing all dimensions of health and wellbeing.

  • Prevention, early detection, and treatment of mental disorders to minimize impact on psychological distress, morbidity, burden of disease, and mortality.

Future Health Protection:

  • Preventing risk factors (obesity, alcohol and tobacco use) to establish healthy lifestyle patterns.

  • Preventing reduction in adult health status from morbidity, burden of disease, and premature mortality.

Short & Long Term Benefits:

  • Return on Investment (ROI).

What are Health Inequalities?

  • Young people face constant social, economic, political, and technological changes.

  • These changes present both opportunities and challenges that can affect their health and wellbeing.

  • Health inequalities arise when one group experiences a higher rate of health issues than another.

    Examples in Australia:

    • Differences between rural and metropolitan youth.

    • Higher rates of mental health disorders in youth compared to adults.

Identifying Inequalities in Youth Health Status

Mission Australia Youth Survey:

  • Annual survey of young Australians (15-19 years) about issues of concern.

  • Used to inform government action, policy, and community organization work.

Key Resources:

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics.

  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Australia’s Health 2024 report (updated every 2 years).

  • Mission Australia Youth Survey.

Data Collection: The Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI)

PWI:

  • A measure of subjective wellbeing.

  • Young people rate happiness with life overall and across seven domains (including health) on a scale of 0 to 10.

  • Scores converted to a score out of 100.

Interpretation:

  • 70+: Normal level of wellbeing.

  • 51–69: Wellbeing is challenged or compromised.

  • 50 or below: Very low wellbeing, strong likelihood of depression.

Health Status of Youth

  • Many young people live with conditions like anxiety that significantly impact daily life.

  • They require resilience, energy, and resourcefulness to manage everyday limitations.

  • Youth stage can see increases in morbidity and mortality, often linked to mental health and risk-taking.

  • Majority of mental health and substance use problems begin before age 21.

Health Behaviors Affecting Current and Future Health

  • Engagement in behaviors like smoking and underage drinking.

  • Rising vaping rates.

  • Noncommunicable diseases (heart disease, cancer) are affected by lifestyle and behavioral risk factors established during youth (nutrition, physical activity, sleep, obesity, stress, substance use).

  • Brain changes during youth mean behaviors can become strongly encoded.

  • Development of behaviors during youth can have long-lasting impacts and affect future generations.

Developmental Changes

  • Youth is a time of physical, intellectual, and emotional changes impacting identity and relationships.

  • These changes present unique opportunities and challenges for health.

  • Physical Development and the Brain:

    • Nerve cells increase dramatically and are then ‘pruned back’ for efficient connections.

  • Social Development:

    • Peer groups become more important.

    • Peer influences affect health risk behaviors.

    • Families remain significant.

  • Young people seek independence, responsibility, and autonomy.

Sociocultural and Commercial Factors

  • Youth experience unequal health outcomes due to external factors combined with developmental changes.

  • Sociocultural Factors:

    • Youth stage has always posed risk factors, but young people today are exposed to social issues and risk factors much earlier.

  • Commercial factors impact youth health through:

    • Product design, packaging, and labeling.

    • Marketing and media promotion of harmful goods (tobacco, e-cigarettes, alcohol, unhealthy foods).

    • Online gaming ads.

    • Pricing and distribution of harmful goods.

Environmental Factors and Health Promotion

  • Environmental Factors:

    • Physical features (natural or built) that surround us.

    • Examples: urban design, infrastructure, housing.

    • Access to health services influenced by sociocultural factors (income, health literacy, cultural influences) and environmental factors (location of services, transport).

  • Health Promotion:

    • Works to prevent negative influences of sociocultural, commercial, and environmental factors.

    • Actions include informing people about healthy choices and addressing community factors that influence health.

  • Role of VicHealth

  • Healthy Public Policy:

    • Government enforces restrictions and regulations to promote better health.

    • Examples: bans on smoking, age limits for sales of harmful products, pill-testing programs, public health campaigns (respectful relationships, road safety).