Media Releases and Opportunities

Young people in Nova Scotia are providing insight into their priorities in a unique study that found they list timely access to mental and physical healthcare, community and environmental stewardship, and the right to a living wage and basic needs as some of the top issues affecting their well-being.

The knowledge mobilization initiative was led by Dalhousie University as a follow-up to the release of the One Chance to be a Child report, which provided data on the well-being of children and youth in the province in 2022.

In this latest study, the researchers recruited 10 young people in Grades 7 to 12 from across Nova Scotia to be part of a youth-led team that first learned about the report and then shared it with decision-makers, including representatives of local health authorities, government, non-profit associations and private industry.

Finally, the youth team prioritized the report findings based on their discussions and identified five priority areas: access to care, community care, open-minded education, quality of life and basic needs, and youth empowerment.

The findings were published in the journal, Research Involvement and Engagement.

Julia Kontak, a PhD candidate in Dalhousie's Faculty of Health, led the project and is available to discuss how One Chance is elevating the voices of young people and their concerns around everything from wait times for mental health services to bullying policies and the desire for sustainable energy options.

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Media contact:

Alison Auld
Senior Research Reporter
Dalhousie University
Cell: 1-902-220-0491
Email: alison.auld@dal.ca