U1 : Youth H & W

• Why are Youth Health Issues Targeted?

  Pigs Help Big Llamas Go Crazy

  • Preventable
  • Major Health Concern
  • Major contributor to the Burden of Disease - Non fatal injuries, disabilities & fatal like premature death ​
  • Linked to other conditions​
  • Significant gains in health can be made through treatment, prevention and management​
  • Large cost (social and economic) to the individual, nationally and globally. ​
• Illicit Use of Drugs

  • Many youth experiment with drugs and other substances.​
  • Misuse of drugs can have short and long term effects on health and wellbeing.​
  • Those who experiment during youth are more likely to develop substance abuse issues later in life. The impacts depend on what drug is used, how long it’s used, how it’s taken.​
  • Common consequences include social isolation, mental disorders, poor academic performance, unemployment, increased rate of criminal behaviour and family breakdown.​
  • May also have be affected by drug use of others.
• Smoking

  • Youth who do not smoke are less likely to smoke later in life.​
  • Nicotine is addictive, people can develop nicotine addiction in as short time as 2 months of starting to smoke.​
  • Smoking increases the risk of premature death and a range of conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory illness.​
  • Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of ill health and death in Australia.
• Social Action 


  Social action is about doing something to help create positive change, on a social, political and economic level. Helps to create pressure to convince governments and other decision makers to rethink their decisions, or take action that helps those who are worse off than themselves. 
• Health Promotion


  process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. 
• Aim of Public Health Campaigns

  • Prevent (Harm, injuries, illness, diseases, premature death for all)​
  • Protect (For ALL- especially the vulnerable)​
  • Promote (Equitable Health and wellbeing and health status for all) ​
• Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion

  • Build Healthy Public Policy
  • Strengthen community action​
  • Develop personal skills​
  • Reorientate health services
• Social Model of Health

  • Address - all determinants of Health ​
  • Reduce - Social Inequality ​
  • Empower - Individuals & Community ​
  • Accessibility -  to health care​
  • InterSocial - Collaboration ​
• Direct Costs

  Costs associated with preventing the disease or condition and providing health and wellbeing services to people suffering from it. Direct costs includes diagnosis, management and treatment of the condition.​
• Indirect Costs

  Costs not directly related to the diagnosis or treatment of the disease, but that occur as a result of the person having the disease​
• Intangible Costs

  Costs on which it is difficult to place a monetary value. They often involve emotions or feelings for both the individual and community.​