Young Australians: Their health and wellbeing (AIHW 2007)

Young Australians: Their health and wellbeing 2007
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)
Canberra. http://www.aihw.gov.au

Part 1: Background

Selected findings:

• In June 2006, there were approximately 3.7 million young Australians aged 12-24 years (51 per cent male, 49 per cent female). Approximately 23 per cent of these young people were aged 12-14 years, 38 per cent were aged 15-19 years and 39 per cent were aged 20-24 years. Young people aged 12-24 years comprised approximately 18 per cent of the total Australian population.
• In June 2005, around 68 per cent of young people lived in major cities, 20 per cent in inner regional areas, 9 per cent in outer regional areas and just over 2 per cent in remote or very remote areas.

Part 2: Health status and outcomes

• According to data from 2003, anxiety and depression are the leading causes of burden of disease and injury among young Australians (17 per cent of male burden, 32 per cent of female burden). Among males, road traffic accidents (10 per cent), schizophrenia (10 per cent) and suicide/self-inflicted injuries (7 per cent) are other leading causes of burden of disease and injury. Among females, anxiety and depression are followed by asthma (7 per cent), migraine (7 per cent) and other genitourinary diseases (6 per cent) as leading causes of burden of disease and injury.
• Rates of death among young Australians decreased from 82 per 100,000 in 1980 to 41 per 100,000 in 2004, an average annual decrease of 2.5 per cent. In 2004, 75 per cent of all deaths of young people occurred among those aged 18-24 years. Male death rates were higher than female death rates across all age subgroups of young Australians.
• In 2004, land transport accidents (30.1 per cent), intentional self-harm (18.5 per cent) and accidental poisoning (5.0 per cent) were the leading causes of death among young Australians.

Part 3: Factors influencing health

Selected findings:

• In 2004-05, 46 per cent of males and 30 per cent of females aged 15-24 years met recommended physical activity guidelines (38 per cent of females and 31 per cent of males in this age group reported low levels of physical activity, while 32 per cent of females and 23 per cent of males reported being sedentary).
• On Census night 2001, it is estimated that 36,173 12-24-year-olds were homeless. This figure represents 36 per cent of the total homeless population and 1 per cent of all 12-24-year-olds.
• In 2006, approximately 57 per cent of 15-24-year-olds (77 per cent of 15-19-year-olds and 36 per cent of 20-24-year-olds) were enrolled in a course of study leading to a qualification, including Year 12 or below. This figure has increased since 2001, when around 51 per cent of 15-24-year-olds were involved in study leading to a qualification.

Part 4: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people

Selected findings:

• In 2001, there were an estimated 116,698 young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 12-24 years. This represents 3.4 per cent of all Australians in this age group in 2001. By mid-2007, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in this age group was projected to have grown to 143,128.
• Between 2002 and 2004, 273 deaths were recorded among young Indigenous Australians aged 12-24 years, equating to an age-standardised rate of 158 deaths per 100,000 young people. This is close to 4 times the death rate among young non-Indigenous Australians (for quality reasons, data from Queensland, Western Australian and South Australia only were included in this item).
• Between 2002 and 2004, 205 young Indigenous Australians aged 12-24 years died due to injury and poisoning, equating to 137 deaths per 100,000 young people. This is close to 4.5 times the rate of deaths due to injury and poisoning among young non-Indigenous Australians (31 deaths per 100,000 young people) (for quality reasons, data from Queensland, Western Australian and South Australia only were included in this item).
• In 2004-2005, the estimated asthma prevalence rate among Indigenous Australians aged 12-24 years (16 per cent) was higher than the rate for all Australians in the same age group (9 per cent).
• While apparent retention rates for Indigenous students increased between 1996 and 2006 (from 76 per cent to 91 per cent to Year 10 and from 29 per cent to 40 per cent to Year 12), the apparent retention rate for Indigenous students from Year 7/8 to Year 12 (40 per cent) was still significantly lower than the rate for non-Indigenous students (76 per cent). Figures from 2002 indicate that young Indigenous Australians aged 15-24 years were also less likely than all young Australians to have a post-school qualification (15 per cent compared with 25 per cent).

Part 5: Health system performance

Selected findings:

• Between 1999-2000 and 2003-2004, the proportion of 20- to 24-year-old women who participated in the National Cervical Screening Program fell from 51 per cent to 48 per cent. In 2003-2004, this was the lowest participation rate of all women in the target age group of 20-69 years.
• In 2004-2005, 69 per cent of young people aged 12-24 years were treated within national benchmark times at public hospital emergency departments, the same proportion as that for all age groups. Young people in major cities (65 per cent) were less likely that their counterparts in remote areas (80 per cent) to be seen within benchmark times.
• In 2004-2005, hospital separations in which an adverse event (such as a post-operative infection, an adverse drug event or misadventure) occurred or was treated accounted for 2 per cent of all hospital separations among young people aged 12-24 years. This was lower than the rate across all age groups (4 per cent).

Part 6: Data gaps and developments