Orygen researchers have received over $920,000 in funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) to explore why the rates of mental ill-health, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts among young Australians continue to rise.
The study, titled ‘Right Here, Right Now’, aims to provide up-to-date information and develop effective, real-time interventions to support the mental well-being of young people by exploring the factors that are contributing to their mental ill-health.
Professor Jo Robinson, who is leading the study, said that in recent years young Australians have been experiencing alarmingly high levels of mental ill-health, and it seems to be getting worse.
"While some research has been conducted on the factors that contribute to mental ill-health in young people, this research is not recent.
"This lack of recent data is a problem because it makes it difficult to develop effective interventions to support the mental well-being of young people. If we don't know what is happening to their mental health, we can't develop interventions that are tailored to their needs," she said.
The study will gather data on the factors that contribute to mental ill-health in young people. This data will be used to create a model that can help identify the most effective interventions for improving their mental health.
"By understanding the potential effects of these factors, we can develop strategies to address them, and thereby mitigate the impact of mental health ill-health on our young people," Professor Robinson said.
"This welcomed funding from the MRFF will allow us to generate new knowledge about key areas of unmet need in young people's mental health and identify new technologies that can be used to deliver targeted and personalised mental health treatments and interventions."
The study will be conducted by a strong team of national and international researchers with a variety of expertise, and will represent meaningful partnerships with people with lived experience and other key stakeholders.
"This ensures that the study is relevant to the needs of young people and that the findings are translated into practice in a way that is meaningful to young people, their families and carers," Professor Robinson said.
The study is due to be completed by June 2025.