About Us

Research Overview

This program aims to advance the health and wellbeing of children and young people through an accessible and responsive primary care workforce and health system and through effective interventions. Our multidisciplinary team works across the areas of health risk taking behaviour, including a specific focus on sexual and reproductive health, mental health, physical wellbeing, preventive health and early intervention.

Using mixed methods, our research focus has been on:

  • Re-orientating primary care toward a youth friendly, preventive care model;
  • Building systems that better respond to vulnerable children; exploring perspectives of young women and young men on their sexual and reproductive health and healthy relationships; and
  • Using technology to address mental health and wellbeing, and access to care.

Program  Objectives

Develop and test interventions that:

  • Improve the access of children, young people and their families to quality primary care, and self-directed care where appropriate;
  • Enable patient centred and integrated care across primary, secondary and tertiary care systems and also that can integrate health with education and welfare needs;
  • Enable detection of health risks and appropriate therapeutic responses;
  • Explore experiences of children, young people and families with health risks and what they require from a responsive health care system;
  • Work collaboratively with education, welfare sectors, government and non-government organisations including professional and community groups, children, young people and families; and
  • Promote knowledge exchange through teaching, and providing research evidence to inform policy and practice.

An emerging area of interest is the potential role of school-based health services (SBHS) in improving health care availability for young people. SBHS represent an alternative model of primary care for adolescents and a means of reaching socially disadvantaged young people who otherwise may not have access to care.

Funding

Victorian Government Department of Education and Training
National Health and Medical Research Council
Medical Research Futures Fund