1. "What concerns me or what is most interesting to me": A qualitative study about what influences adolescent engagement with public health issues.
- Author
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Nguyen B, Raeside R, Kite J, Freeman B, Phongsavan P, Cheng HL, Steinbeck K, Baur LA, and Partridge SR
- Subjects
- Humans, Adolescent, Female, Male, New South Wales, Young Adult, Mental Health, Climate Change, Adolescent Behavior psychology, Health Promotion methods, Qualitative Research, Focus Groups, Public Health
- Abstract
Issues Addressed: Promoting public health messages in adolescence may influence future health outcomes. A better understanding of what influences adolescent engagement with public health issues is needed., Methods: Adolescents aged 13-19 years from New South Wales, Australia, were recruited via study advertisements to participate in an online focus group. All provided informed consent and completed a short survey including demographics and selection of leading public health issues of concern. Participants attended a 75-90 min focus group conducted through Zoom teleconference that explored top public health issues of concern to participants, and barriers/enablers to engage with these issues. Qualitative data was thematically analysed using NVivo. A working group reached consensus on final themes., Results: Out of 18 participants (mean 15.4 [SD: 2.2] years; 50% female), most attended high school (83%), spoke predominantly English at home (89%), and resided in metropolitan areas (94%). The top public health issues of concern selected were mental health (56%) and the environment/climate change (56%). From the thematic analysis, underlying drivers of adolescent engagement with public health issues included: personal connection to these issues, broader societal impact, and exposure to public health issues on digital media. Barriers included feeling unempowered, and a lack of support and opportunities., Conclusions: This study provides insights on the barriers and enablers of adolescents engaging with public health issues of concern to them. SO WHAT?: Understanding this may help health professionals and researchers to design more influential public health campaigns and interventions, including through co-design processes, which may improve future health outcomes., (© 2024 The Authors. Health Promotion Journal of Australia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Health Promotion Association.)
- Published
- 2024
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