Interview: Healthy thinking

Sitting in a packed foyer during the lunch break at the Association for Young People's Health's (AYPH) first conference, its chair Professor John Coleman points out how strongly professionals feel about young people's health.

"One of things that's encouraging is the wide range of professionals who are here," he says. "That shows the groundswell of feeling."

Among the 200 delegates are teenage pregnancy co-ordinators, nurses, drug education workers, teachers, youth workers, GPs and social workers.

Coleman, who was ratified as the first chair of the association at the conference on 6 February, says the formation of the AYPH has been a long time coming, with the idea first discussed about seven years ago.

With professionals realising there was no one group to bring them together to talk about adolescent health, it was decided the time was finally right.

"There's a move from the Department of Health (DH) and policy makers to focus more on adolescent health," Coleman says. "It's a really good time to create an association. It will act to bring nurses, doctors, teachers and youth workers together so we can look at health in a holistic way, rather than doing sexual health here and substance abuse there.

"It's important as a professional group to recognise what people are doing and give them more support and training."

Support from the DH and Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) of £220,000 means the AYPH has had a good start.

The importance of such a group has already been noted by the DH, with Dr Sheila Shribman, national clinical director for children, young people and maternity services, inviting a member of the association to sit on the stakeholder group to discuss the child health strategy promised in the Children's Plan (CYP Now, 13-19 February).

"We want to advocate for better services for young people and the offer from Dr Shribman to have a representative from this association on her stakeholder group is a good symbol of that," says Coleman.

Other key objectives for the AYPH include supporting and encouraging training across the health sector and looking further at what services are already there for young people.

"It's recognised that young people aren't children and they are not adults," says Coleman. "We have to help professionals think about young people's needs in a health context and look at how we can get a better flow between the health service offering and what young people really want."

As a senior research fellow at Oxford University, Coleman believes mental health has been on the sidelines, despite the fact that the link between mental health and physical health and substance misuse is well established.

Coleman says the AYPH is also keen to start working on research and it has identified three priority areas. "We're particularly interested in young people's use of GP services and websites," he says. "There is a huge amount of research on how young people use websites to get information.

"I am also keen to look at how schools can implement a more effective role in the delivery of health education and health services."

It is clear the group is one that wants to be heard and it already has plans on its input to the DH on young people's health demonstration sites, the four local areas across England selected to pilot health services dedicated to young people designed around their needs.

"We want to look at whether they can be extended and look at the lessons learned from them, help develop them and take ideas to the DH," he says.

With strong backing from the health profession, the AYPH plans to make its voice heard by those who matter. "We want to see how we can position the association to influence policy," Coleman concludes.

BACKGROUND

The Association for Young People's Health

- The AYPH was formally launched on Wednesday 6 February 2008

- It will provide a focus for those who want to argue for better healthcare for adolescents

- The association will set up a young people's working group to inform it on the issues they face

- The group will work in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.