BCHS-Health-Promotion-Strategic-Plan-2025-2029 - Flipbook - Page 11
Improve Wellbeing
Evidence and rationale
Currently in Australia, data shows that mental health is a concern for all age groups. However,
there is a gap in recent data especially for children and young people across local, state and
national levels. Nationally, 1 in 3 young people reported high/very high levels of distress (34%)
(Headspace, 2020) and 40.3% of adults saw a professional for their mental health (ABS, 2023).
Across the state, 13.7% of children aged 1 to 12 had emotional, developmental or behavioural
problems (Department of Education, 2024).
An average of 34.3% of adults indicated they had anxiety and/or depression, noting this was
significantly higher among women 42.3% vs men 25.6%). In addition, 23.3% of adults indicated
that they were lonely (VAHI, 2023). Locally, a 2019 Yo Bendigo report identified that young people
in Greater Bendigo are more concerned about mental health as an issue in Bendigo than young
people are at a national level. For adults, 36.1% of people (aged 18-80+) in Greater Bendigo
indicated they have anxiety and/or depression, with women being higher (40.8%) in comparison
to men (30.9%) (VAHI, 2023). Local loneliness data demonstrate 21.5% of people (18-80+) were
lonely with loneliness being slightly higher in women (22%) than men (21.4%) (VAHI, 2023).
There is strong evidence to show that scaling up high quality interventions which target parents
and the early years, alongside skill-based social and emotional learning within primary learning
environments can enable young people to develop social and emotional skills that are critical for
life. There is also evidence to show that integrating frameworks such as cognitive behavioural
therapy (CBT) are effective in reducing anxiety and depression symptoms (Monash, 2020).
Additionally, we can seek to integrate these approaches within the sector to create more
supportive environments (Barry, M., Kuosmanen, T., Keppler, T., Dowling K. & Harte, P. 2023).
While targeting interventions towards the early years of life plays a crucial role in providing a
strong foundation for developing positive mental wellbeing, while also picking up on early signs of
mental health conditions, it is important to note that a singular approach is not enough when it
comes to prevention of ill-mental health. Rather utilising a multi-modal approach integrating
development of personal skills, creating supportive environments and community action, and
support from government to build up public policy which target the social determinants of health
is key, focusing on the entire lifespan (Carbone, S. 2020; Singh, V., Kumar, A. & Gupta, S. 2022;
Barry, M., Kuosmanen, T., Keppler, T., Dowling K. & Harte, P. 2023).
