Synopsis: In introducing the monthly virtual seminar series, Advancing Adolescent Health in the Asia Pacific: A virtual community to share knowledge and support collaboration, Professor Susan Sawyer AM provided the background of why adolescent health matters, described the rationale for an expanded definition of adolescence, provided the background to our Centre of Research Excellence and in doing so, provided the context for why adolescent health matters in our region.
Speaker: Professor Susan Sawyer AM
Professor Susan Sawyer AM is based at the University of Melbourne, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Royal Children’s Hospital. Susan holds the chair of adolescent health at The University of Melbourne, is the director of the Centre for Adolescent Health, a WHO collaborating centre for adolescent health, and the immediate past president of the International Association for Adolescent Health. She is a globally recognised leader in adolescent health with 30 years of experience in adolescent health research, policy, capacity building and clinical care, including a long history of collaborations and partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region.
Questions this event addressed:
- What is the rationale for an expanded definition of adolescence?
- Why does adolescent health matter?
- What are the major health issues that affect adolescents in the Asia Pacific region?
- What is the Centre for Research Excellence on Driving Global Investment in Adolescent Health?
- How can you engage with us in this seminar series?
Date: 1 February 2024
Time: 1:00 to 2:00 pm AEDT
Key resources:
- Sawyer, S. M., Azzopardi, P. S., Wickremarathne, D., & Patton, G. C. (2018). The age of adolescence. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 2(3), 223-228. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(18)30022-1
- Sawyer, S. M., McNeil, R., Francis, K. L., Matskarofski, J. Z., Patton, G. C., Bhutta, Z. A., Esangbedo, D. O., & Klein, J. D. (2019). The age of paediatrics. Lancet Child Adolesc Health, 3(11), 822-830. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2352-4642(19)30266-4
- Patton, G. C., Sawyer, S. M., Santelli, J. S., Ross, D. A., Afifi, R., Allen, N. B., Arora, M., Azzopardi, P., Baldwin, W., Bonell, C., Kakuma, R., Kennedy, E., Mahon, J., McGovern, T., Mokdad, A. H., Patel, V., Petroni, S., Reavley, N., Taiwo, K., . . . Viner, R. M. (2016). Our future: a Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing. The Lancet, 387(10036), 2423-2478. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00579-1
Event Recording
Advancing Adolescent Health in the Asia Pacific: A virtual community to share knowledge and support collaboration
Despite one in two of the world’s adolescents living in the Asia-Pacific region, adolescent health is a relatively new field of endeavour in Australia as well as the region. It is a field that spans policy makers from multiple sectors, researchers from different disciplines, and practitioners working in health services, schools and communities and encompasses a multitude of health topics and concerns. Despite this, there are few opportunities to come together to share, showcase and build capacity to improve adolescent health and wellbeing in the region.
This seminar series aims to provide opportunities for researchers, policy makers, practitioners, implementers, young advocates – indeed, anyone interested in the health and wellbeing of adolescents – to enhance their understanding of adolescent health and wellbeing, with a focus on research.
This series is supported by the Centre of Research Excellence for Driving Global Investment in Adolescent Health. Led by a team at the Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, it brings together leading Australian research groups including the University of Melbourne, Burnet Institute, University of New South Wales, University of Queensland, University of South Australia, and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.
Read more about the series here
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