Youth Health

The Youth Health Project
Project Officer: Rowan Lunney

Aims of the Project
  • Improve communication between doctors and young people
  • Raise Awareness of youth health issues
  • Provide information to doctors abouth youth health issues

Project Areas

High Schools

This part of the project has a strong educational component and is a collaborative partnership between doctors, high schools & other organisations for young people such as TAFE, JPET and PCYC. Local doctors give talks on a wide range of adolescent health topics to small and large student groups with the twin aims of breaking down barriers between doctors and young people and of ensuring that school students have up-to-date information about health issues which are important to them. Topics are chosen by the school/ group leader and are wide-ranging. They often include sexual health, mental wellbeing, body art, sports medicine, nutrition and drugs and alcohol.

Annually, local doctors give over talks to more than 2000 high school and TAFE students.

Resources

PowerPoints

The Division has a resource library of PowerPoint presentations for GPs (thank you, Dr Bruce Watts & Dr Kristy Lane): Asthma, Alcohol, Healthy Eating, Body Art, Sexual Health, Smoking, Street Drugs and Sports Injury.

Pamphlets

“What’s Up Doc” is a pamphlet produced by this Division. Please contact the Youth Health worker at the Division for these pamphlets. These pamphlets are free to those within the Division’s area.

Information for GPs

An excellent resource for GPs is Adolescent Health – a resource kit for GPs. This kit covers issues such as medico-legal issues, risk assessment, substance use and mental health.

This may also be downloaded as a PDF file: http://www.caah.chw.edu.au/resources/gpkit/Complete_GP_Resource_Kit.pdf

To order a copy of the GP Resource Kit, 2nd edition please phone, fax, or email Kids Health at the Children's Hospital at Westmead:
Phone: (02) 9845 3585
Fax: fax the order form to (02) 9845 3562
Email: Kids Health
Price: $35.00 for one copy
         $30 for two or more copies (incl. GST, excl. postage and packaging)

Local Youth Services: please see your local service directory:

Bellingen Shire: online from the Bellingen Council website
http://www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au/communityorgs/2012/OrgDocId/2007_Community_Directory_BNC.pdf           

or contact the Mid North Coast Division of General Practice’s Youth Health worker on 66515774

Free condoms available to GPs for educational purposes. Order some for your practice.

Pamphlets / brochures: A wide variety is available for GPs from the Youth Project Officer at the Division. They include brochures on body art, sexual health, mental health and nutrition.

Patrick McGorry - Experts Gather to Talk Suicide

Submitted by Sarah Findlay on Fri, 25/11/2011 - 9:16am

Organised by the Mid North Coast Division of General Practice in collaboration with Headspace and other local youth health organisations, Professor Patrick McGorry recently spoke to hundreds of young people, teachers, and health professionals in Coffs Harbour on youth suicide and how to prevent it. For details of his visit see the attached article which appeared in the Coffs Harbour Advocate.