AstraZeneca's Young Health Program aims to improve youth mental health and well-being

MISSISSAUGA, ONT. | AstraZeneca Canada Inc., hase launched with its partners the Young Health Program, focused on improving the mental health and emotional well-being of vulnerable adolescents.In partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, mindyourmind (a program of Family Service Thames Valley), and Physical and Health Education (PHE) Canada and with the active involvement of youth, the Young Health Program will augment programs and resources for young people and build knowledge and understanding among the practitioners who serve them.The mental and emotional health and well-being of youth is a serious and under-served Canadian health issue. At any given time, 15% of young Canadians are affected by mental health issues, with 80% of all psychiatric disorders emerging in adolescence."Prevention and early intervention is absolutely critical in helping youth deal with the emotional and mental health issues they face," said Dr. Bruce Ferguson, director, Community Health Systems Resources Group at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. "When significant issues are identified early, most can be resolved effectively. This program aims to help teens before negative feelings or stresses become a concern."The program will foster emotional and mental health in vulnerable adolescents, ages 10-19. With a focus on prevention and early intervention and delivered in collaboration with partners, the Young Health Program aims to help 50,000 youth move from risk to resilience by connecting them with positive conditions and experiences that enhance emotional and mental health.AstraZeneca has already begun working with program partners to reach youth where they are—online and on-the-ground—and advocate through networks to build awareness, knowledge and understanding about adolescent mental health. The London announcement showcased an online toolkit for youth and youth serving practitioners developed by mindyourmind and a paper called "Healthy Minds Start Here" produced by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada that outlines the issues and opportunities they see at their Clubs across the country. To coincide with the event, a meeting of educators from across Canada has been organized by PHE Canada, to discuss the issue of mental and emotional health."We believe that all youth deserve to live in a state of well-being that allows them to realize their potential, cope with stress, work productively and contribute to their community," said Pam Jolliffe, president & CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. "Working together with the Young Health Program, we can support young people to increase their resilience, coping abilities and emotional health.""We are always looking for unique and creative ways to move Canadian youth from risk to resilience," said Bev Noble, president, board of directors, Family Service Thames Valley/mindyourmind. "This effort will help us expand online resources for youth and enhance the capacity of youth-serving professionals to effectively engage and support them.""Mental health is an important issue that affects all of us, and particularly influences a child's overall healthy development, along with their physical and social development," added Andrea Grantham, executive director and CEO of Physical and Health Education Canada. "This collaboration enables us to fulfill an important role to identify and address issues that will ultimately influence good mental health among all students, including those that may be living in crisis situations."The AstraZeneca Young Health Program is not just a Canadian effort. Globally, the organization has partnered with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Plan International to address the health of adolescents around the world. Canada and other countries in which AstraZeneca has a local presence are developing their own Young Health Program initiatives, to reflect the immediate needs of their youth."The Young Health Program, together with its valued partners, will directly support young people using tools that resonate with them and channels that appeal to them," said Laura Mably, Vice President, AstraZeneca Canada.

AstraZeneca's Young Health Program aims to improve youth mental health and well-being

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