Young people with chronic physical conditions experience higher rates of mental ill-health than the general population, but are being left to shoulder the additional burden of navigating an uncoordinated health system that treats their conditions in isolation.
To address this often-overlooked issue, Orygen convened a Policy Lab workshop with a group of experts – including young people with lived experience, academics, mental health clinicians, GPs and government representatives – to develop recommendations to guide policymakers in improving care for young people.
The Policy Lab reviewed the evidence and findings from stakeholder consultations and produced three key policy proposals to address the challenges currently faced by young people as they navigate the healthcare system.
Chronic physical conditions are long-term health issues that can have a negative impact on functioning and quality of life, including causing chronic pain.
Background for the Orygen report included engagement with young people – or their clinicians – who had experience of conditions such as endometriosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease.
Senior Policy Analysist at Orygen, Nick Fava, said that despite the significant challenges of managing a chronic physical condition, there was limited understanding of how healthcare services support the 11 per cent of young Australians experiencing both mental ill-health and physical conditions or chronic pain.
“Almost two-thirds of young people attending adult pain clinics also report experiencing mental ill-health,” Fava said.
“We also know that young people with chronic physical conditions and co-occurring mental health concerns are twice as likely to be admitted to hospital for their mental health, and report challenges with diagnoses, treatments and the significant costs associated with managing multiple conditions.
“Young people also described feeling that their chronic condition was treated differently when they had a mental health diagnosis, with their symptoms written off as ‘psychosomatic’.”
Fava said that one of key recommendations developed by the Policy Lab focused on better communication and coordination between youth mental health, allied health and primary care providers.
“Young people told us that integrated or coordinated care, where clinicians work together to focus on a young person’s health, was a positive experience for them – meaning they didn’t have to justify their clinician's findings or explain their test results to other clinicians,” Fava said.
“Developing and funding new case coordination roles would improve communication between physical and mental health professionals – reducing the burden on young people and enabling holistic care.”
Fava said another important recommendation focused on the peer workforce – which should be bolstered to include more young people who have experience of both chronic physical conditions and mental ill-health, who can help others experiencing similar challenges.
“Peer workers’ experience of mental health and health care systems enables them to offer valuable insight into navigating different services, helping young people to feel more confident and supported,” Fava said.
“Not only does peer work support young people in their recovery, it offers new education and employment pathways to young people wanting to share their experience and insight to strengthen our healthcare system.”
The Policy Lab also recommended the government commission the development and implementation of a cross-discipline youth health credential focused on the interaction between chronic physical health and mental ill-health, ensuring better understanding, support and coordination for young people in the future.