Promoting young people's health: The health concerns and needs of young people

A five-month exploratory in-depth study was conducted in two sites in England with young people age 8-17 years and adults with a professional or personal interest in health promotion within this age group. Over 90 young people and 40 adults, including parents, teachers, youth workers, health promotion officers, general practitioners and clinical staff, were interviewed. The study aimed to examine adults’ and young peoples’, sometimes differing, beliefs about health, illness and health promotion messages. The findings suggested that young people operate with an integrated concept of health and well-being which affords high importance to social relations and social activities. Similarly, adults with a broad professional role in relation to young people tended to report that they did not favour a focus on specific health topics, such as drugs, smoking and sexual health, but would prefer to provide a more inclusive approach which takes account of the mental, emotional and social dimensions of health experiences. The research suggests that a narrow focus solely on commonly-defined priorities, such as drugs and sexual health, may not meet the needs of young people.