Data from the Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas has been leveraged to reveal critical mental health needs of young people in Belmont, WA.
Dr Sae-Koew is an early career researcher from Curtin University who has received a Healthway Fellowship to work in collaboration with the Y WA to co-design and evaluate strategies that strengthen the mental health and wellbeing of young people in the City of Belmont LGA.
As part of the initial scoping work, he conducted detailed analysis using mental health indicators from the Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas, focusing on young people aged 10-24 years of age. This includes:
Emergency Department presentations for deliberate self-harm (rate per 1,000)
Emergency Department presentations for mental health-related attendance (rate per 1,000)
Community mental health service contacts (rate per 100,000)
The data was analysed across the 2006-2022 period broken down by age group (10-14, 15-19, and 20-24) and where possible, by gender. Each has been benchmarked against WA state averages.
The findings point to significant and sustained mental health needs in the Belmont area — particularly among children and adolescents aged 10–14 and 15–19.
In 2022, ED presentations for deliberate self-harm were 5 times higher (10–14) and 1.3 times higher (15–19) than the WA average. Among the highest rates in the state.
In 2022, ED presentations for mental health-related reasons were also 1.5 times higher (10–14) than the state average.
In contrast, in 2022, community mental health service contacts were substantially lower, with rates 2.4 times lower (10–14) and 1.6 times lower (15–19) than the WA average.
These ED presentation data, in the past from 2017-2022, have indicated that these trends are on the rise.
Much of these trends are driven by young people living in Kewdale-Rivervale-Cloverdale area of the City of Belmont LGA.
These trends appear to be higher in boys than girls.
These patterns suggest high levels of acute distress and possible barriers to accessing community-based mental health support earlier in the care pathway. Drawing upon these initial findings from the Atlas, Dr Sae-Koew will apply a place-based approach to enhance existing services in the area and identify additional supports needed to promote youth mental health and wellbeing in Perth’s eastern corridor.
