MINDFUL OF CHILDREN'S HEALTH
Although most of us now live long lives, we are well aware
that we face new health challenges in the 21st century.
In-depth community studies report that we all realise that
the big gaps are in child health, mental health and
Indigenous health. Thankflluy, we now have a Prime
Minister who has set real goals for closing the gap in
Indigenous health. He has followed this up with his most
recent announcement supporting high quality child care and
early health and education initiatives.
Twenty-five per cent of all health-related disability under
the age of 14 is due to mental health problems. This rises
to 60 per cent for 15 to 34 year olds. Overall 75 per cent
of all adult mental disorders commence before age 25.
Eight out of ten of the major causes of premature death or
disability in teenage boys are mental health or substance
abuse conditions. That is, if you really want to know what
health problems will result in your child dropping out of
school, failing to go on to adult employment or living a
socially chaotic life in the 21st century the answer is
simply mental health or substance abuse. Most of this has its roots in childhood and early adolescence.
Unfortunately, the big inter-generational issue that
dominates the health debate is not related to our children.
We baby boomers are ageing and talking up our demands
for better health care. In reality, we are healthier than any
previous generation. We should not retire at 65 but rather
go on and lead long and productive lives. Collectively, we
are the beneficiaries of past social and economic stability,
remarkable advances in child health (such as mass
vaccination) and critical public health initiatives (such as
the rapid reduction in smoking rates and improved diet).
Our current health system now reflects its 19th and 20th century roots. It has big hospitals, technological
breakthroughs and effective medicines. By contrast, we
have no health system to deal effectively with the real
mental health issues of those in early childhood or in the
teenage years - 'generation Z '. Of course, we will need
to rely on these same people from 2020 onwards to build
and sustain our communities, support our economy and
generate prosperity for future generations.
If we really cared about the future, first, we would
concentrate on consolidating into practice what we already
know. Second, we would invest in research designed to
reverse these undesirable patterns of child mental health. It
is clear that changing social trends over the last 50 years
have led to more isolated children and young adults. The
decline in participation in all forms of extended family and
community life has been bad for the mental health of young
people. Our adult world needs to re-engage with its young
people. We need to use all the new technologies and
combine these with the wisdom that experience brings.
Our declining engagement with our kids has been
compounded by our very liberal attitudes to alcohol and
substance abuse. Recent studies indicate that the critical
frontal area of the brain, which really oversees the
transformation of children into adults, is not complete until
the early 20s. Serious consideration should be given to
lifting the legal drinking age back to 21 years.
At this stage we do not know how to prevent the onset of
many of the mental disorders that we now recognise. So,
we must invest a large portion of our intellectual and health
research strength in this area. A range of conditions such
as childhood autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
teenage-onset psychosis and bipolar and other severe
mood disorders are now more openly recognised and
discussed.
New genetic, biomedical, psychological and social tools are
available to investigate the origins of these baffling
conditions. Many will prove to be the result of complex
interactions between inherited characteristics and other
environmental or social agents. New opportunities for
genuine prevention or effective treatments are likely to
result from unravelling these complex processes.
If the debate is left simply to our health professionals then
by 2020 we can expect that more money will simply be
spent on our ageing population. Related health system
problems, such as our lack of capacity to manage chronic
diseases, the lack of an effective primary care system, the
increasing out of pocket expenses associated with
accessing treatments and the failure to provide adequate
services in rural and remote regions do demand immediate
political solutions.
The swag of new taskforces commissioned by the new government should get on and deal with these realities of the day. If, however, there is any real purpose to the 2020 summit, then perhaps it could be to establish a national program of research, clinical and community activity that would deliver a 21st century response to the real child and youth mental health problems that our society creates. It's great to see the Prime Minister has now put this real issue into play!