Synopsis: In this session, Professor Pete Azzopardi and Associate Professor Holly Erskine will provide a broad overview of the state of primary data for adolescent health, highlighting key knowledge gaps and the implications this has had for policy and practice. In this context they will discuss the Global Burden of Disease Study, an international effort to model estimates of health across populations, including for adolescents. The seminar will then explore a case study of how GBD has been used to drive better investment and measurement in adolescent health.

Questions this seminar will address:

• Where are the key data gaps in adolescent health
• What is the GBD study?
• How can the GBD be used to advance adolescent health, in the region and globally?

Speakers: Professor Peter Azzopardi and Associate Professor Holly Erskine

Professor Pete Azzopardi leads an international program of research focusing on adolescent health and well-being. His research is informed by experience working as a paediatrician in Australia (including in youth justice, the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector, tertiary referral services, youth homeless services) and across health services in the Asia Pacific region.

Associate Professor Holly Erskine leads the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Epidemiology and Services (CAPES) research stream at the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research. Currently, Holly is the Principal Investigator of the National Adolescent Mental Health Surveys (NAMHS), which involves nationally representative household surveys of the prevalence of adolescent mental disorders in Kenya, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

​Date: Thursday 13 February 2025

Time: 1:00 to 2:00 pm AEDT

Register to attend here.

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