Health and Movement Science-Health for Individuals-YoungPeopleAdvocate

What are the opportunities for improving and promoting young people’s health?

Content Point One

Examine how young people advocate for their own and others’ health using various sources considering past, current and future advocacy and the role of individuals within their communities.

NESA Glossary of Key Words:

Examine - Inquire into.
How - Relate cause and effect, make the relationships between things evident.

Sources

The ABS youth data source AIHW Australia’s Health
AIHW Youth Survey Data Source
The Mission Australia Youth Survey
Mental Health Service Access Headspace reference groups
Orygen Health
Australian Youth Affairs Coalition Australian Youth Climate Coalition
Australian secondary school students alcohol and drug survey

What are the opportunities for improving and promoting young people’s health?

Content Point One

Examine how young people advocate for their own and others’ health using various sources considering past, current and future advocacy and the role of individuals within their communities.

NESA Glossary of Key Words:

Examine - Inquire into.
How - Relate cause and effect, make the relationships between things evident.

Sources

What is Advocacy?

Advocacy is the act of supporting or arguing in favour of a cause, policy, individual or group. It involves activities aimed at influencing decisions within political, economic and social systems and institutions. Advocacy can take many forms, including health advocacy, environmental advocacy and social justice advocacy each with its own specific goals and methods.

Health advocacy involves actions and efforts aimed at ensuring that individuals and communities have access to high-quality, affordable healthcare. It addresses disparities in health outcomes and access to care, often focusing on vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, low-income groups and marginalised communities.

Health advocacy involves:

Raising awareness about health issues and disparities
Lobbying for policy changes to improve healthcare access and quality
Providing direct support to individuals navigating the healthcare system
Partnering with communities to identify and address specific health needs.

Health advocacy can include activities like legal action, public campaigns, media engagement and policy development to promote social justice and health equity.

Past, Current & Future

Advocacy

Past
Current
Future

Past

Offline events: health fairs, workshops and awareness campaigns in schools and local communities.
Physical flyers and posters: flyers and posters taped to telegraph poles or on community bulletin boards.
Local media and newspapers.
Face-to-face outreach: door knocking, setting up information booths at schools and universities.
Traditional media campaigns: interviews on TV or radio.
Advocacy letters: letters written to politicians and policymakers.
Community workshops: information sessions conducted in community centres.

Case Study - Young People's Involvement in Anti-Smoking Campaigns in Australia

In the 1990s, Australian youth played a significant role in the country's successful anti-smoking campaigns. These campaigns demonstrated the power of youth engagement in addressing public health issues and creating positive social change. The involvement of young people was a major factor in the country's success in reducing smoking rates and promoting healthier lifestyles.

Key strategies involving young people

Peer Education Programs: Schools and community organisations implemented peer education programs where young people were trained to educate their peers about the dangers of smoking. These programs often included interactive workshops, presentations, and role-playing activities.
Media Campaigns: Young people were featured in television commercials, radio ads, and print materials that highlighted the negative consequences of smoking. These campaigns often used humour, shock tactics, and personal testimonials to resonate with young audiences.
Community Initiatives: Youth groups and organisations participated in community-wide anti-smoking initiatives, such as smoke-free school grounds and smoke-free public spaces. These initiatives aimed to create a culture of non-smoking and reduce the exposure of young people to secondhand smoke.

The impact of these campaigns on young people's health

Reduced Smoking Rates: Smoking rates among Australian adolescents and young adults declined dramatically during this period.
Improved Health Outcomes: Fewer young people experienced smoking-related health problems, such as respiratory issues, heart disease, and cancer.
Enhanced Self-Esteem: Anti-smoking campaigns helped young people develop a sense of self-worth and empowerment by making healthy choices.
Positive Role Models: Young people who participated in anti-smoking campaigns became positive role models for their peers, encouraging them to make healthy choices.

14.3 Public education campaigns to discourage smoking: the Australian experience - Tobacco in Australia

Current

Social media campaigns: utilising platforms like Instagram and TikTok to raise awareness about health issues (e.g. the #SmilingDepression campaign).
Support groups: local or online support groups to share experiences and offer guidance. (e.g. Youth Advocacy Centre (YAC) offers support groups facilitated by trained professionals).
School programs: the organisation and implementation of fundraising campaigns (e.g. R U OK? Day).
Youth organisations: joining or creating youth-led organisations allowing young people to voice their concerns and work together on community health projects (e.g. WHO Youth Engagement).
Awareness events: organising or participating in health-related events such as walks or charity fundraisers (e.g. youth-led climate change protests).
Online resources: creating and sharing content, blogs, and videos on social media.
Participate in research: (e.g. Frontiers).

Future

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) experiences: creating immersive experiences so people can better understand specific health issues.
AI-powered personalised campaigns: using artificial intelligence to analyse individuals and tailor specific health promotions.
Larger multi-stakeholder collaborations: more partnerships among governments, NGOs, private companies and individuals to address complex health challenges collaboratively.
Data-driven advocacy: big data analytics and predictive modelling to help advocate for emerging health trends with more targeted initiatives.
Global networking and knowledge sharing: enhanced networking to enable wider collaborations to support each other on a global scale.

What are the opportunities for improving and promoting young people’s health?

Content Point One

Examine how young people advocate for their own and others’ health using various sources considering past, current and future advocacy and the role of individuals within their communities.

NESA Glossary of Key Words:

Examine - Inquire into.
How - Relate cause and effect, make the relationships between things evident.

Sources

The role of individuals within their communities

Learning Activities

1. Design and conduct surveys or interviews with their peers or young individuals in the community to gather data on their: awareness of health issues engagement in advocacy activities willingness to be involved in future advocacy initiatives the effort they are willing to contribute to positive health promotions for young people.

2. Research real-life examples of young people advocating for health issues. Use data from news articles, interviews and research studies to analyse the impact of these initiatives.

3. Examine social media platforms for health campaigns led by young people. Use hashtags, and engagement metrics, such as likes, comments and shares to understand how social media is used for health advocacy.

4. Chat to representatives from local youth health organisations to speak with you such as Headspace, Destiny Rescue or Youth off the Streets.

5. Find infographics, brochures and campaign materials created for health promotion among young people. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of these materials in conveying health messages.