Physical Health of Young people in Australia.

Physical Health of Young people in Australia.

ARACY background Established in 2001, ARACY continues to build on the foundation that the complex issues affecting young Australians can’t be solved by one individual or organisation working in isolation. That’s why ARACY is in the business of finding and promoting practical and innovative strategies to improve child and youth wellbeing. In recent years ARACY has grown substantially and is the leading organisation advocating for child and youth wellbeing in Australia. Other wonderful organisations in Australia advocate on specific issues, such as child protection, or focus on specific development periods of childhood , such as the early years. ARACY has an overarching role and these organisations are often members of ARACY as together our efforts are most effective. 1 Through collaborative efforts, ARACY has led positive change in many areas of early childhood, middle years and youth development. Our strategic directions and decisions about priorities and activities are driven by our guiding principles. At ARACY, we progress and promote evidence-based programs and strategies to improve the wellbeing of children and youth. As a national not-for-profit organisation, we work collaboratively with more than 3000 members, both individual and organisational, to turn ‘what works’ into practical, preventative action. To help meet the local need to strengthen collaboration, in 2013 ARACY established local convenors in all states and territories of Australia. I was appointed the inaugural State Convenor for Tasmania. Part of my role in this position is to provide opportunities for local ARACY members to network and I host regional events with guest presenters. These are wonderful networking events which are free for ARACY members. • Visit our website for further information: http://www.aracy.org.au/ • Read my ARACY State Convenor biography: http://www.aracy.org.au/about-us/our-state-and-territoryconvenors#Lindsay • Find out about upcoming national, web-based and local ARACY events: http://www.aracy.org.au/events 2 Following on from the influential first Report Card on the wellbeing of young Australians, produced by ARACY in 2008, the second Report Card: The wellbeing of young Australians (2013) brings together up-to-date data information on the wellbeing indicators of young Australians, comparing us to the best in the world, and highlighting areas that need our urgent attention. This report card also includes valuable input from young people themselves, compiled through The Nest project, which underlines the health and wellbeing issues they want to be acknowledged, and addressed. Are we getting better? The second Report Card tells us we have improved in some parameters. It is great to see fewer youth in Australia smoking and more employed. However, in only 26% of the indicators was Australia in the top third of the OECD countries. This means however, for more than 74% of the wellbeing indicators, we were in the middle or below. The 30% of indicators where we are in the bottom third, compared with other countries, are ones that are of considerable concern, as they have lifelong impacts. It is alarming that, in spite of opportunities, we are in the lowest third for whooping cough vaccination! Establishing successful and altering harmful developmental pathways is an important goal of all professionals engaged with young people. The development and maintenance of these pathways however, appears to be vulnerable to disruptive forces and some young people enter adulthood with disadvantages. While the full picture of how well Australian children and young people are faring remains largely speculative there is however, no doubt that current young Australians’ mortality and morbidity rates are a cause for concern. This is where the ARACY Report Card: The wellbeing of young Australians is meeting an urgent need. The primary goal of The Nest action agenda is to improve the wellbeing of children and youth. Government reports have predicted the life expectancy of Australian children alive today will fall two years by the time they are 20 years old, and that “after centuries of rising life expectancy, we are now staring down the barrel of a decline.” This action agenda aims to disrupt the pathways which would lead to this expectation being fulfilled. 3 There is conjecture that there are too high a proportion of Australian young people who are not doing as well as could be expected across a range of developmental health and wellbeing measures—biological, social, environmental or spiritual. Such conclusions are based on perceived reductions in development against expected outcomes (Saunders 2008). M researchers and scholars agree that most young people in Australia are fairing well but there are still significant areas of concern. It is encouraging that most young people in Australia are faring well but it remains a concern that not all youth make the transition into adulthood reasonably well and carry scars, living lives of latent if not lost potential. A trend of coexisting increase in social inequalities and a decrease in human development indicators at a time of unprecedented prosperity within some modern societies, including Australia, has been identified. This trend is recognised as ‘modernity’s paradox’ (Li, McMurray and Stanley 2008; Wyn 2009). Carlisle, Henderson and Hanlon (2009) have identified that in modern Western cultures, such as Australia, young people may experience a “growing sense of individual alienation, social fragmentation and civic disengagement and decline of more spiritual, moral and ethical aspects of life” (p. 1556). Evidence is mounting for the detrimental effects of modern living on developmental outcomes in vulnerable youth. Detrimental effects are demonstrated in the unambiguous, widespread and increasing levels of young people living in poverty, displaying poor educational outcomes, delinquency, youth crime, alcohol and drug abuse, violence and teenage pregnancy. Changes in the family structure and functioning, life time stresses, and social changes, are just some of the impediments to the formation of secure relationships, which in turn progressively undermine human development potential (Bronfenbrenner & Morris 1998). Such concerns highlight the modern shift from biological causes of morbidity and mortality among youth, to ecological causes (Keating & Hertzman 1999). Can we make a difference? By understanding the determinants, drivers of wellbeing, and through know where we are and where we want to go, we certainly can make a difference. 4 The Nest is an approach that recognises the interconnections across all areas of life. For example the Nest recognises child education outcomes are influenced by the education system as much as support during the perinatal period and nurse home visiting services in early childhood along with early intervention services supporting all families. Research has shown that many health and wellbeing outcomes are vulnerable to various risk factors and amenable to protective factors (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child , 2012). The Nest aims to align efforts to improve the wellbeing of children and youth aged 0-24 years. It is about collectively identifying what we should be aiming to achieve for children and youth, the most effective preventionfocused and evidence-informed ways to achieve this change, and how we can best align our collective efforts to achieve it. 5 During 2010 – 2013, ARACY brought Australian’s together to develop and define measurable outcomes or goals, providing a common framework for taking action on the wellbeing of Australia’s children and youth. The main research question ARACY explored through this consultative research was: “what is important for children and young people to have a good life?” Drawing on the Nest project a number of themes emerged that were important to children, youth and families. These themes were used as the basis for identifying indicators for the international data comparisons as well as the Australian indicators. 6 The research results broadly encompassed six outcomes. Aspects of being loved and safe were most prominent, encompassing family and friends, stability, and connections with others. Related to this were the provision of material basics, such as food and shelter, and money. Being Health was noted as important and involved physical health and nutrition as well as mental health and self esteem. Elements of learning were considered important in terms of academic participation and achievement; beyond this was a broader belief in the value of self-development for wellbeing. This included having opportunities to participate, to have a voice and be involved in the community. Sitting across these areas, and noted by the child and youth sectors, was developing a positive sense of culture and identity, along with the presence of supportive systems and environments for child and youth wellbeing, such as using joined up services, cohesive strategies and a secure economic and environmental context. These six Key outcomes were identified by children, youth and families. This chart illustrates the relative importance of each outcome. 7 Our shared vision for Australia’s children and youth (aged 0-24) is an Australia where ‘All children and youth are loved and safe, have material basics, are healthy, are learning and are participating and have a positive sense of culture and identity’. This vision was developed and refined through the collective action of The Nest project, involving more than 4000 Australians, including children and youth, parents, leading thinkers, child advocates, policy-makers, service planners and providers across the nation. The priority directions arising from the six outcomes of the Nest have been established to guide where action is most urgently required to improve the wellbeing outcomes of Australian children and youth. The Nest action agenda details key evidence-based, preventive-focused priorities to improve child and youth wellbeing across Australia, and includes six operational principles (page 7) and six priority directions (page 9) to mobilise collective efforts to achieve this. The Nest web page is: http://www.aracy.org.au/projects/the-nest/the-nest#agenda The Nest action agenda can be downloaded from: http://www.aracy.org.au/documents/item/162 8 Currently, Australia ranks just ‘middle of the road’ in comparison to other OECD countries on indicators of child and youth wellbeing across the key domains of family, health, education, child poverty and deprivation and participation. A suite of agreed indicators for each outcome (detailed in the ARACY Report Card: The wellbeing of young Australians) allows us to monitor and measure progress towards our goals. Together, the outcomes and their indicators provide a comprehensive outcomes measurement framework on how Australia’s children and youth are faring. They measure progress on whether we are ‘turning the curve’ to achieve our vision of an Australia with high rankings on international indicators of child and youth wellbeing. The Report Card is a great achievement allowing progress to be accurately evaluated. 9 An example out of the report card. The full Report Card: The wellbeing of young Australians is available online at ARACY: http://www.aracy.org.au/documents/item/126 ARACY projects The Nest The Common Approach right@home Parental engagement Engaging Families in the Early Childhood Development Story What Works for Kids Evidence Reviews Report Card: The wellbeing of young Australians Measuring impact of the sector on child and youth wellbeing Statement of Commitment on Climate Change Playing for Change Communities That Care 10 How you can help You can join the collective effort by becoming a champion for progressing a national agenda that makes the wellbeing of young people a major priority by: • adopting the Report Card as your framework for measuring and reporting outcomes; • supporting ‘best buy’ and prevention-focused interventions to improve young people’s wellbeing; and • aligning your effort with others across Australia. • Becoming a member of ARACY 11 One of the six priority directions of the Nest action agenda is ‘Improving the social and emotional wellbeing of young Australians’ (pg 14). Social and emotional wellbeing is helped through positive family relationships, connections and support networks. These strengths can protect children from some of the impacts of disadvantage and build resilience. What we need to do now is discover the evidence of what works in building resilience in children, youth, families and communities. This could lead to the national implementation of evidenced based whole of school interventions in every Australian school that effectively promotes resilience and emotional and mental health and wellbeing. 12 References ARACY 2013, Report Card: The wellbeing of young Australians http://www.aracy.org.au/documents/item/126 ARACY 2013, The Nest action agenda http://www.aracy.org.au/documents/item/162 Bronfenbrenner, U & Ceci, SJ 1994, ‘Nature-nurture reconceptualized: A bioecological model’, Psychological Review, vol. 101, no. 4, pp. 568–586. Bronfenbrenner, U & Morris, PA 1998, ‘The ecology of developmental processes’, in W Damon & RM Lerner (eds), Handbook of child psychology, 5th edn, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, vol. 1, pp. 993–1028. Carlisle, S, Henderson, G & Hanlon, PW 2009, ‘Wellbeing: A collateral casualty of modernity’, Social Science & Medicine, vol. 69, no. 10, pp. 1556–1560. National Scientific Council on the Developing Child 2012, The Science of Neglect: The Persistent Absence of Responsive Care Disrupts the Developing Brain: Working Paper 12. http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu Keating, DP & Hertzman, C 1999, Developmental health and the wealth of nations: Social, biological, and educational dynamics, Gilford, London. Lerner, R 2005, ‘Forward’, in U Bronfenbrenner (ed.), Making human beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development, Sage, Thousand Oaks. Li, J, McMurray, A & Stanley, F 2008, ‘Modernity’s paradox and the structural determinants of child health and wellbeing’, Health Sociology Review, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 64–77. Saunders, P 2008, ‘Measuring wellbeing using non-monetary indicator’, Family Matters, no. 78, pp. 8–17. Wyn, J 2009, Youth health and welfare: The cultural politics of education and wellbeing, Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Urie Bronfenbrenner, 2004, 13

CNA145 – Suggested Report Format for Assessment 1 This assessment activity requires you to identify and discuss a specific programme that could improve child, young people and/or family health outcomes. During the assessment you must use one (1) of the ARACY Nest Priority Directions to: 1. Highlight the significance of the priority direction for Australian children and youth on growth and development 2. Identify the current status of health and wellbeing in Australia for your selected priority direction 3. Discuss what determinants of health and wellbeing are contributing to these outcomes. 4. Propose one current programme which has demonstrated evidence that it will help achieve the identified priority direction. 1800 word limit (does not include charts/graphs) Title – make up your own attention grabbing title Introduction: So that anyone reading the report would have an idea as to what the report is about. Introduces the reader to what is going to be discussed in the paper, it will generally explain the structure of the paper. It might also set the scene with a little background information Body of the report You decide how to put the report together – you can use dot points, sentences, graphs, charts – you might like to review what a real report would look like (google/database search some report formats to get some ideas) and one that you would be happy to present in order to demonstrate your knowledge on your topic. Remember to:  Introduce and discuss each point 1) 2) 3) and 4).  Each point will need a new paragraph at least. Each paragraph has a structure; a topic sentence, supporting sentences and a concluding sentence  Recommendation (point 4) – Usually a paragraph or two and needs to incorporate evidence to support the proposed programme – ie show some evidence of evaluation of the activity – has been successful in improving health outcomes elsewhere?  In-text reference. Conclusion: This is your final word on the topic. It can provide a brief summary of what you have said in your essay, and the conclusions you have dawn from the evidence. It is not the place to introduce new points. References: End text references are always presented on a new page after the body of your work. Appropriate use of references to support your claims Please refer to the UTAS SNM Harvard referencing guide to correctly reference in-text and/or reference list. And finally persuasive writing: Academic writing is not about ‘taking sides’, you are expected to be impartial in your critical analysis of material and your examination of the issues. Your argument will be stronger if you write persuasively. It may be that you have found some evidence to be quite strong but you need to write this in a manner that will convince the reader, let them make up their mind, rather than tell them what to think or what you think.

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