Health and Wellbeing
Examining the power of technology in physical and mental health
We’re studying the role of digital technology in promoting the health of young people. The rapidly-evolving digital health landscape has huge potential to support our wellbeing. But it also raises a host of ethical issues, including the potential to compound existing health inequalities. We’re developing strategies to mitigate some of these ethical concerns, and proposing ethical frameworks for health research and technologies, especially for people under the age of 18.
Check out some of our current and past projects below.
From Participation to Accountability in Healthcare for Young People
This project partners with young people in NSW to investigate what accountability in health means and to develop youth-centred evidence and mechanisms to support constructive change.
The Development of Global Child and Adolescent-Centred Nutrition Indicators (CAN_I)
The overarching aim of this project is to collaborate with children and adolescents to co-develop child and adolescent-centred nutrition indicators for implementation in policy and public health programs across the globe. The collection of indicator data will take place via a global digital platform.
Being There
Who do young people contact first when they face mental health challenges and how do they support each other? This research examines the role of friendships in mental health care and how young people support each other when facing mental health challenges.
Fix My Food: Children's Views on Transforming Food Systems
More than 700 children and young people, from 18 countries, are calling on political leaders and public and private-sector stakeholders to work across all levels of society to strengthen food systems. Find out what they have to say about food systems, the key challenges to eating nutritious, safe, desirable, and sustainable food, and the improvements they feel are necessary for the 21st century. Their voices and the findings of this project will contribute to the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) in 2021, presented as part of UNICEF’s global Food Systems Dialogues with children.
Hope and Resilience in Young Australians
This project explores diverse experiences of hope for Australian young people, including the relationship between hope and resilience in different cohorts of participants. It extends on the results of the 2021 UNICEF Australia report (‘Children’s Voices in a Changing World’), contributing to a more extensive research base on young Australians’ hope in a post-pandemic context.
Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children: Digital technology, play and child wellbeing
We're working with 318 children across 12 countries to understand what digital play and wellbeing means to them. The report aims to inform the design of digital products and services used by children, as well as the laws that govern them. It includes a wellbeing framework for children, made up of eight child-centric wellbeing outcomes.
Wellbeing, Health and Youth: Centre for Research Excellence in Adolescent Health
The views and needs of young people are being brought to the forefront, to support better adolescent health research. This project brings together diverse young people, families, professionals, policy-makers, service providers and other community members.
World Vision CHAMP Child-Led Research
This project will work with youth leaders in five countries across the South Asia Pacific region (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines and Sri Lanka) with the aim of equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to advocate for practical action to address hunger and malnutrition in their countries.
Examining Youth Digital Wellbeing in Australia and the Philippines
This project examines young people’s experiences of digital health interventions across Australia and the Philippines. By working closely with professional stakeholders and young people in each country, the project will co-design and co-develop targeted public health messaging, practitioner guidance and support as well as policy frameworks that enable youth health and wellbeing.
batyr Program Evaluation: Promoting Young People's Wellbeing
Our team has designed an appropriate and exciting approach to rigorously evaluate the batyr mental health support and prevention programs for schools and universities. The aim of this project is to provide the best quality data and insights to provide the basis for a sustainable plan for longer term evaluation.