Young health outreach workers are very effective in making contact with socially excluded young people with health and social problems, a nursing researcher from the University of Dundee will say at the third International Research Conference of the Royal College of Nursing today at the University of Glasgow.
The research by the University of Dundee and Tayside Health Board showed that some socially excluded young people in Dundee had problems with drugs and alcohol, sexual health, crime, violence, housing, and employment that were not being dealt with by existing services.
For some young people, service use is an unwelcome contact with authority and is better avoided. Even when mainstream services are in contact, many young people are not forthcoming about their problems, says research author Lawrence Elliott, Director of Research, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Dundee. "We found a very effective way forward is for outreach workers close to their age to meet them on their own terms".
A pilot project, funded by the local authority and health board, comprised five health outreach workers who gave advice, support and accompanied young people to other services, such as employment services or specialist youth health services, where necessary. They worked with 300 young people aged between 11 and 25 over three months.
The researchers recommend that this model, already used by drug and sexual health services, be used nationally to improve healthcare for socially excluded young people. The researchers also call for a review of current referral systems, which are sometimes unable to accept referrals from outreach workers, to enable them to act more successfully as a gateway to established services. "Mainstream services could also be made more attractive to young people if a greater attempt was made to involve them in planning those services", says research co-author John Hosie.
Lawrence Elliott is one of 180 leading nurse researchers from the UK and abroad to present cutting-edge research at the RCN conference, which this year is held in Glasgow to celebrate the 550th anniversary of the University. Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Dundee delivers the keynote address.
Notes to editors
The research Health outreach for socially excluded young people will be
presented to the RCN conference on Friday 6 April.
The RCN Nursing Research Conference programme can be found at www.man.ac.uk/rcn/research2001
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