We’ve updated our population data page ready for International Adolescent Health Week. As the most read page of the Youth Health Data Hub, we know that understanding how many young people are in the UK and more detail about their demographics is important to people.
Did you know that 18% of our population is aged 10-24 years old? One quarter of that age group identify as from an ethnic minority.
This is one of the most important life stages for establishing social, educational, cultural and emotional building blocks for life and almost one fifth of our UK population are in it as we speak. You’ll note in the mortality section that the differences between age groups and sex are stark. This highlights that young people are not a homogenous group who can all be treated in the same way. They need careful consideration, inclusion and discussion to help develop the services they need to help them thrive.
At AYPH we are working to help raise the voices of these young people to advocate for good quality healthcare and better long term outcomes.
So let’s have a think about what we can all be doing in our respective roles to help support and encourage young people to reach their full healthy, contented potential.
As we highlighted in our recent report on the health and wellbeing of young people in low income areas in England and Wales mortality data shows a clear relationship between area deprivation and mortality rates. This could stimulate a conversation with your colleagues about what could be done to improve access to services for young people and reduce health inequalities in your area.
If factors that increase inequalities for young people are of interest to you then this data can be a springboard into more consideration of certain groups, and we’ve done work on the impact of ethnicity and being a care leaver on how young people feel about health care and what their needs are.
Perhaps you want to know more about how to provide youth-friendly health services? Our resources section includes lots of information about young people’s needs and practical things we can do to support them.
We’re also really interested to know what you use the population health data page for, and which statistics stand out the most to you. Please do let us know at info@ayph.org.uk or @AYPH
Author: Lizzie Wortley
October 2024