New projects focus on youth mental health

The Hospital Research Foundation Group is proud to announce it has made a near-$500,000 commitment towards improving mental health outcomes for young people. 

A pair of new projects aiming to improve mental health outcomes for young Australians will share in the funding across the next two years, which has been made possible by your donations. 

Awarded through our ‘Healthy Minds for Children & Adolescents’ grant round, the projects work towards providing tangible benefits for both young cancer patients and youth from culturally diverse backgrounds. 

According to the National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy, half of all adult mental health issues emerge before the age of 14. 

It also states that more than 50% of children with mental health issues are not receiving professional support. 

The strategy highlights a gap in the system when it comes to early intervention methods.  

This grant round called for projects that prioritised innovative approaches in either primary prevention or early intervention. 

Projects funded in this round are: 

Supporting youth from culturally and
linguistically diverse communities to flourish
Associate Professor Lillian Mwanri – Torrens University 

Migrants with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds make up about 30% of the Australian population. These migrants, especially CALD youth, are disproportionately affected by factors that challenge their mental wellbeing. 

This project will explore the protective and risk factors for social and emotional wellbeing in CALD youth, including challenges that prevent them from accessing mental health services. Primary prevention initiatives will be co-designed to improve outcomes for CALD youth. 

Improving mental health in young cancer patients
Dr Michala Short – University of South Australia 

Young patients with cancer are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety during and after their treatment compared to children without the disease. Despite this, an assessment tool for young patients is not available in South Australia. 

This project brings together childhood cancer health services and consumer agencies to co-design a self-reporting emotional wellbeing screening tool, ensuring children and young adults can get the support they need when they need it.