Talking About Youth Health in BC

BackgroundMcCreary’s AHS is a questionnaireused to gather informationabout youth health.It has been administeredevery five years since 1992,and provides informationabout physical and emotionalhealth and aboutfactors that can influencehealth during adolescenceor in later life. This workshopis designed to giveyouth an opportunity tolearn about and respondto results from the fourthAHS which was completedby almost 30,000 youth in 2008.In addition to learning about the results of the AdolescentHealth Survey, workshop participants are introduced to theidea of risk and protective factors, share their perspectiveson health issues in their community, and learn about buildingprotective factors.Why talk about youth health?Research shows that meaningful youth participation promotes healthy development in youth. Youth participationhas been shown to:• Promote resilience• Reduce risks• Develop youth’s competencies• Enhance physical and emotional health• Improve youth programs and services• Promote youth’s commitment to programsEven in this brief introduction to youth health information, participants get the chance to gain decision-makingand problem-solving skills, interact in a healthy way with their peers, gain knowledge and bolster their self-esteem.These benefits can protect youth against risk-taking behaviour that can negatively affect health, both in the shortand the long term.Ideally this workshop will be the beginning of a dialogue with youth about health issues in the community and howbest to address them. Youth participation in decision-making is essential for the enhancement of both ourcommunities and our youth.For more information on youth participation, youth advisory councils (YACs) and McCreary’s youth projects, visitwww.mcs.bc.ca.Next Steps: Talking About Youth Health in BC5