How do we support improvement of health and wellbeing standards among children and youth in New Zealand?

Written by Tom Varghese

Adolescence and young adulthood are generally thought of as healthy life stages. However, recent evidence shows that, despite observed improvements in health-related behaviours among adolescents and young adults, New Zealand compares poorly with other, similar countries in providing support to young people with long-term conditions to manage their care, and this appears to be getting worse.

As the World Economic Forum noted, adolescence is a time in which we take huge bounds, psychologically, biologically and socially. The forces shaping young people’s lives today continue into adulthood and have a huge impact on the society we all live in. And today’s adolescents and young adults are not the same people as those of previous generations: on the whole, in recent years there has been a decline in underage drinking, fewer young people smoke, and illicit drug use among teenagers is decreasing.

There are about 800,000 young people in New Zealand. Our young people, as the next generation, shape the future of Aotearoa New Zealand. Young people deserve to be supported and empowered to reach their full potential and enhance their mana. Having healthy young people ensures a healthier society for New Zealand, both now and in the future. Major challenges remain: rates of mental distress appear to be rapidly increasing. This is consistent with patterns in other developed nations. Major inequities remain, with poorer health care access and higher unmet health needs among Māori, Pacific and lower income groups. Access to health care remains a barrier for secondary school students.

There are some very concerning mental health trends and socio-economic disadvantages may be having worsening impacts on teens. The WHO reports that 16% of the global burden of disease and injury for adolescents aged 10-19 years is attributable to mental morbidity, such as depression and anxiety. They estimate that 10-20% of adolescents worldwide will experience mental illness to some extent, a disturbing percentage and one that is likely to be underestimated.

Unfortunately, the situation in Aotearoa New Zealand is particularly concerning, with mental morbidity rates more than doubling over the last two decades, for both males and females. More specifically, the national prevalence of mental health morbidity was 5%, rising to 14.5% in 2018/19.  The national teenage (15-19 years) suicide rates are among the highest in the OECD and 2013 findings from the Youth12 survey of secondary school students reported 24% of all respondents had intentionally self-harmed in the preceding 12 months.

The Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy, launched in August 2019, sets out a shared understanding of what is important to children and young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. As part of delivering the outcomes of this Strategy, children’s agencies, including Police, have committed to the first Oranga Tamariki Action Plan (published 8 July 2022).