see also ... Clinical Skills Canberra PHC 2000
Rural Workplace RHC

Inter-Sectorial Approach for Youth Health and Well-Being

Jennifer Brooker, M.Ed, ND
Bernard Denner, MACA Health Educator
Centre for Rural & Regional Health Education
PO Box CP1403 Mildura Victoria, Australia 3501
BrookerJen@bigpond.com

This paper is based on work conducted in the Central and Mallee regions of Victoria. The program "Lifeskills for Adolescents" was further developed in Canada in 2001 by invitation. Jennifer Brooker is hoping to develop the inter-sectorial approach in the Sunraysia District of Mildura, Victoria as part of her further studies in Youth Health Education and Management.

The paper will share how this community pathway can be developed to offer adolescents in urban, rural and regional areas an innovative way to access school, local health services and programs as a means to socialize.

It also identifies the importance of Health Services and educational institutes in adopting policies that recognize the value of Early Intervention for our youth so that we can provide opportunities to meet their needs within the current health and educational structures. Such community-supported initiatives provide the resilience that some of our young urban and rural adolescents need to cope in their teenage years.

Youth orientated community projects provide youth with skill building opportunities with their peers in their own space. Adolescents residing in remote/rural areas are often disadvantaged by the lack of opportunities to socialize, as they do not have access to picture theatres or local shopping malls that are in larger towns. Opportunities like a Youth Drop In Centre is an investment in their health and well-being which a community can support in a similar way they do for sport- as part of the local culture. A Youth Centre can provide young people with an after school option, supporting activities that met their needs and improve their life skills with opportunities to socialize, learn new skills and talk to peers.

The aim and promotion of interagency collaboration is to produce positive student well being in schools and the community. The educational setting and other youth orientated settings can increase a student's exposure to protective factors, promote resilience and enhance their personal and social development due to the amount of time they spend in this environment. Therefore the need for collaborative approaches between schools and the wider community has become critical in times of economic and social change.

The identification of current inter-sectorial practice between educational facilities and community agencies is important. The welfare of the individual in terms of the school and wider community benefits from effective inter-agency collaboration is not in dispute. How effectively that is currently being employed and can therefore be improved upon for the benefit of our youth so they can become productive and a meaningful member of their society is the question.

The provision of inter-sectorial practice supports the changing of negative social patterns of behaviour for our youth. It is hoped that by providing this opportunity that students can gain positive experiences which will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives and provide them with a foundation on which to build positive experiences.