Unit 1 – Area of Study 3: Youth health and wellbeing
Outcome 3
Interpret data to identify key areas for improving youth health and wellbeing, and plan for action by analysing one particular area in detail.
Examples of learning activities
- ‘Many of the attitudes and behaviours – even the illnesses – that largely determine adult health and wellbeing have their origins in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood’ (AIHW 2011); these words should be a ‘call to action’; discuss
- review a recent film, television drama, documentary or book that has youth health and wellbeing as a central theme; provide some guidelines for points to include, such as whether it showed good understanding of adolescence, how it made them feel, and whether they would recommend it to friends; compile a list of class favourites
- debate the statement ‘Adults haven’t got a clue about how we really feel.’
- ‘Young people have to work through a broad range of issues as they move from childhood to adulthood’ (Better Health Channel). Access ‘Teenage Health’; the summary at the top lists ten areas of concern for young people; use it as a starting point for students to create their own ‘Top 5’ version of this list
- in small groups, design a social media tool to communicate a message to the adults in their lives: ‘What I need to feel secure, supported and well’
- compile a collection of recent news reports (from the last month or so) that relate to youth health and wellbeing; as a class, use the reports as a simple data interpretation exercise to draw two conclusions: whether media reports about youth tend to be positive or negative and what the major health ‘issues’ are for youth, as perceived by the news media; critique this portrayal of their age group in terms of relevance, fairness and accuracy
- in small groups, allow students to practise data interpretation together before they embark on independent research; provide students with a series of straightforward but varied graphs and tables relating to health; set questions not just on the meaning of the data but on its potential use in the promotion of health and wellbeing
- ask students to interpret a series of key graphs from part II (‘Health status and wellbeing’) of the AIHW publication Young Australians: their health and wellbeing; as a class, pinpoint some statistical trends and draw conclusions relating to the health status of Australian youth
- access AIHW’s ‘Youth health and wellbeing’ webpage, open the most recent edition of Young Australians: their health and wellbeing and locate the summary page; create a brief report on key findings, under the headings ‘The good news’ and ‘Things to work on’
- find and share examples of statistics/data that show variations in the health status of different groups of Australian young people
- model/revise basic research terms and methodology by designing and carrying out a simple primary research project as a class; make sure the topic is inclusive and respects privacy, and that participation is optional; begin with a hypothesis; devise a brief survey that tests the hypothesis; collect data (this can be as simple as a show of hands in response to a question), present findings using appropriate and preferably varied data presentation tools; map out what could be put into the ‘discussion’ section of a report including background information, secondary research and/or further questions raised; draw a conclusion relating to the initial hypothesis
- survey the class to find out what young people are worried about in terms of their health and wellbeing
- model/revise research terminology by providing students with examples of:
- biased, one-sided or misinformed reports/conclusions.
- partial or inaccurate analysis of data.
- research compromised by conflict of interest.
allow students to look at the examples themselves and to propose why each one should be regarded with caution - examine the latest ARACY Report Card: The wellbeing of young Australians; in small groups, students share what they found ‘most interesting’, ‘most surprising’ and ‘most worrying’; each group collates its findings, creating a poster for display around the room
- investigate the most recent Mission Australia Annual Youth Report; what is it, and what is the data used for?; create an infographic to summarise the results of the most recent survey, with a focus on what young people consider to be the top issues facing Australia
- access the most recent edition of Young Australians: their health and wellbeing and locate the chapter titled ‘Emerging issues of concern’; provide a summary of major youth health concerns leading into the future
- invite a guest speaker who works in the field of youth health and wellbeing (doctor, nurse, psychologist, counsellor, social worker, youth worker etc.); students prepare questions relating to their chosen area of independent research
- find and/or create real case studies of young people who have benefited from accessing a program targeting youth health and wellbeing; these can be written or taped interviews or testimonials, edited to protect privacy as appropriate
- the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth Nest Action Agenda ‘turns the evidence on “what works” for child and youth wellbeing into practical preventative action to benefit all young Australians aged 0–24 years’; investigate and report on actions that are taking place
- access the Victorian Government’s Youth Central website; in groups, students select different programs that have a focus on youth health and wellbeing; they prepare a report for the government (a short video, podcast or written report), evaluating and rating the program and advising the government on future initiatives
- investigate government and non-government youth programs in the local area; as a class, compile a guide to youth support services, with a brief description and evaluation of each. What do they do and how are they funded?
- conduct a news media audit to identify any current debates or controversies relating to youth health and wellbeing
- find and share news articles or video clips that feature community concern and criticism related to youth health programs or proposals; examples could include the Safe Schools program, the Doctors in Secondary Schools program, and debates around pill testing at entertainment venues; compile examples of changes that have been made to programs because of community concerns
- ‘When there’s a fuss about young people it’s always about sex or drugs, like they don’t trust us not to be idiots’; discuss and debate
- find and document examples of young people involved in youth health advocacy
- conduct research into the key features of one issue (i.e. an area for health-promotion focus) relating to the health and wellbeing of Australia’s youth; set the class a series of structured questions to direct the research and cover the required key knowledge and skills
Detailed example
Structured questions: focus on Australia’s youth
Choose one area of youth health and wellbeing to focus on. Make sure it is an area that has been identified for health promotion action and intervention in Australia, as the task includes researching relevant government and community programs.
The choice of focus should be supported by current health data on burden of disease, health inequalities among Australian youth and/or documented evidence of the major concerns of Australian young people. A recommended starting point for identifying current focal points is AIHW’s ‘Youth health and wellbeing’.
Student research and reporting on the selected focus area should be structured around the following questions:
- With a focus on the selected topic, explain its impact on the health and wellbeing of Australian young people, making sure all the dimensions of health that may apply are considered.
- Present statistical evidence (data) on incidence, prevalence and trends – that is, the number of young people reporting this health issue, how likely young people are to be affected, and any relevant information on who may be more (or less) likely to be affected and whether the problem is improving or getting worse.
- Considering young people now and in the future, their families and the nation, what are the costs (direct, indirect and intangible)?
- What are the risk factors?
- What are the protective factors?
- Has there been any community input or debate around this topic? (In other words, is it talked about in the news and/or on social media?) If so, discuss how community response and input has influenced related health strategies/programs.
- What healthcare services and support is available for young people?
- How can the impact of this health issue be controlled and/or reduced and how can young people contribute to this effort?