Community Health ASSIGNMENT 8 8 COMMUNITY HEALTH ASSIGNMENT Name of the Student Name

However, it has been seen various people especially the young adults who fall in the age gap of 12-18 years face a lot of health issues which is detrimental for their overall help and thus it is important to assess the health issues and the determinants of these health on the young adults. This paper will focus on the young adult group ranging between 12 to 18 years who live in Bunbury which is located in Western Australia and help in describing factors that will help in identifying health issues among the young adults.

Running head: COMMUNITY HEALTH ASSIGNMENT
COMMUNITY HEALTH ASSIGNMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
Community health is considered to be a major study within clinical and medical
sciences which highly focuses and emphasizes on maintenance, improvement and protection
of health status of the population communities and groups (Boeing et al, 2014). Working at
community levels in order to promote healthy living is highly important as it helps in
preventing chronic diseases and also helps in bringing great health benefits to majority
number of people who are in need. However, it has been seen various people especially the
young adults who fall in the age gap of 12-18 years face a lot of health issues which is
detrimental for their overall help and thus it is important to assess the health issues and the
determinants of these health on the young adults. This paper will focus on the young adult
group ranging between 12 to 18 years who live in Bunbury which is located in Western
Australia and help in describing factors that will help in identifying health issues among the
young adults.
Demographic
Bunbury is one of the largest towns in Western Australia and according to reports; it
currently has a population about 80,000 people (Abs.gov.au., 2019). It has been that there are
many young adults who belong from this town and it has been seen that the young adults that
range between 12 to 18 years of age in recent times are seen to be prone to various diseases.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, it has been seen that the number of
obese or overweight young adults in Australia had hit around 1 million in the year 2017 and
2018 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare., 2019). Reports suggest about 46 percent of
the young adults were aged between 18 to 24 years (McCauley, 2019).

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Reports suggest that in the year 2015, the children in the South West region were said
to be developmentally vulnerable in more than one domain. About 32 percent of the children
in Bunbury were developmentally vulnerable (Wacountry.health.wa.gov.au., 2018).
According to scholars, developmentally vulnerable means when a child falls in the category
of lowest 10 percent in one of the five categories which are behaviour, communication,
language, emotions and physical health (Wacountry.health.wa.gov.au., 2018).
In the period between the years 2011 and 2015, it has been reported that the rate of the
Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations in the South West children were moderate to high.
Around 43 percent of children and adolescents faced issues due to dental conditions, 19
percent of the children and adolescents had ear, nose and throat infections
(Wacountry.health.wa.gov.au., 2018).
However, it has been seen that the young adults had been diagnosed with mental
health issues as well, About 14 per cent of the young adults, 17 percent among the females
and 11 percent among the males reported that they have been diagnosed with mental health
issues. Aboriginal residents who aged between 15 years to 64 years have also faced
challenges due to mental health issues like depression and anxiety
(Wacountry.health.wa.gov.au., 2018). However, the shocking and most heartbreaking thing
which the report presented by the government also suggests is that suicide, between the years
2011 and 2015 has been the leading cause of death among the young adults
(Wacountry.health.wa.gov.au., 2018).
Bunbury is one of the major towns and it can be seen that the town highly focuses on
health and ensures that the environment of the town is clean and healthy so that it does not
create any risk of chronic diseases for the people living in the town. According to reports, the
environmental health of the city monitors various ranges of activities which can potentially

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impact the health and the living standards of the community. Thus, the Environmental Health
Services team helps in developing and implementing programs in various areas like
accommodation, environment, swimming pools and aquatic facilities, mosquito management
and waste management and many more in order to uplift the quality of the standard of living.
It can be seen that there are very few young adults who have been facing health issues which
is related to the environment as the city highly emphasizes on diseases spread due to the
environment however, it can be seen that majority of the young adults have been facing
mental health issues which is detrimental as this has contributed to the rise in suicide rates
among young adults in Bunbury as well as in the entire Western Australia.
Health issues
From the epidemiological data, it can be seen that majority of the adolescents in
Bunbury have been suffering from mental illness both aboriginal as well as non-aboriginal
adolescents. Mental health issues are considered to be a problem or an issue which
significantly affects the way of thinking of a person, the way one interacts and behaves with
other people. Every 1 in 5 people in Australia are considered to be suffering from mental
illness or issues at some point in their lives (McCauley, 2019). However, there are other
grave health challenges which the young adults are facing in terms of their health which is
obesity which is highly detrimental as it can lead to other severe diseases which can possess
risk. The most common health issues faced by the young adults in Bunbury are the following:
Obesity
Obesity is one of the huge issues that is faced by the young adults in recent times.
There is a rise in obesity in Bunbury among the young adults which can be detrimental for
the health of the young adults in the long run. According to scholars, obesity related effects
range widely and has the potential to cause serious damage to the children as well as the

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young adults, obesity often leads to serious issues like Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Joint
and Cardiac complications, sleep apnea, ineffective metabolism and even many psychological
issues (Wilding et al, 2018).
There are several reasons why young adults and children become obese and
overweight and the most common reasons for obesity among young adults in Bunbury are
due to the genetic factors, eating patterns which are highly unhealthy, very low physical
activities and often a combination of all the other factors (Fennell et al, 2016). It is important
for the young adults to be aware of the detrimental effects that obesity possesses which can
contribute to life risking diseases that can hinder their lifestyle at a very young age.
Depression
The demographic reflects on high rate of young adults facing issues due to mental
health. One of the most common mental illness which the young adults in Bunbury have been
facing is Depression. According to scholars, depression is a mental disorder which is mostly
characterized by continuous depressed mood and also loss of interest and enthusiasm in
activities which later causes vital impairment in the daily life of the people (Otte et al, 2016).
Depression is considered to be a silent killer as majority of the people cannot understand
when the disease is setting in a person and the rise in depression apart from causing harm to
the mental satisfaction also causes harm to the physical body. Scholars, suggest that the most
common symptoms known to people of depression are mostly emotional like guilt, sadness,
feeling hopeless and many more however the disease also has a huge impact on the physical
body of the young adults as well like fatigue, stomach upset, restlessness and also pain
(Ayodeji & Dubicka, 2017).
The demographic also shows that the number of mental illness cases among young
adults is more among the aboriginal in comparison to the non-aboriginal people. This is

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mostly because of social and cultural discrimination and various other issues which has led to
this grave issue.
It has been seen that the majority of the deaths among the young adults is due to
suicide and depression is considered to be one of major causes of young adults resorting to
committing suicide. A research suggested that most people commit suicide due to the
psychological battle which they have been facing for years (Robinson et al, 2016). It has been
seen that Bunbury has established many healthcare facilities that treats mental illness
however it is important first to spread awareness about the illness so that one comes to the
facilities to seek for help.
Anxiety
Anxiety is also considered to be a mental illness which is presently experienced by
several young adults in Bunbury and also in parts of Western Australia. According to
scholars, anxiety is a mental disorder which is mainly characterized by strong feelings of
anxiety, worry or fear which has the capabilities of disrupting or interfering with the daily
activity of the diagnosed person (Schotanus-Dijkstra et al, 2019). Research suggests that the
major symptoms of anxiety are feeling tensed, nervous and restless, having panic, increase in
the heart rate, trembling, sweating, feeling tired and weak and often having trouble in
thinking or concentrating on anything properly (Friman & Dymond, 2020). This illness has
impacted the lives of many young adults in Bunbury which has resulted in many deaths due
to suicide. Anxiety, same like depression makes people feel scared and make them panic
most of the times which often makes them take the drastic step of ending their lives.
It has been seen that the suicide rates among the young adults in Bunbury are very
high in comparison to the other diseases which has caused a lot of issues and it has been seen
that the above mentioned health issues have a huge role to play in contributing to the rise in

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the suicide rates among the young adults not only in the town but also all across Australia. It
can be seen that Australia in general has been focusing on establishing and growing facilities
for providing proper mental treatment and healthcare as data shows that around 1600 mental
facilities have been established till date to treat patients facing mental problems in order to
mitigate the issue of rise in suicide rates among young adults and people (AIHW., 2019).
Social detriments of health
Rowlands et al, (2017) states that there are various key and primary drivers of health
which reside in the everyday working and living conditions of people like the circumstances
in which ones lives, works, has aged and many more and these social determinants generally
include income, employment, education and also social support. It has been seen that these
social determinants has played a huge role in contributing to the rise of the discussed health
issues among the young adults in Bunbury.
According to scholars, depression is a result of socio-economic factors as it has been
seen that income, unemployment and lack of social support play a huge role in the rise of
depression among the young adults (Gibbs, Govende & Jewkes, 2018). Akhter et al, (2019)
states young adults often become depressed when they do not have proper income and also
due to unemployment as this makes them worry about the future and creates a lot of stress. It
has been seen that academic stress and peer pressure are another factors which has also
contributed to the rise in depression. According to scholars, many aboriginal young adults are
bullied because of the race and ethnicity which leads to the rise in depression among the
young adults (Berger et al, 2019).
Scholars have suggested that poverty has a major role to play in the rise in depression
and anxiety among young adults (Kodet et al, 2019). Poverty makes the young adults be

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depressed and often makes them panic thinking about the poor and grave situations that might
affect them and their family.
McMahon, Creaven & Gallagher, (2019) states lack of social support often paves way
for the rise in obesity among young adults. Every adult needs mental and social support so
that one can function properly and do their daily activities efficiently however when there is
lack of support, people may become lonely and develop eating disorders which lead to
obesity. Moreover, obesity later often leads to depression. Brewis & Bruening, (2018) states
obese young adults are often made fun of because of their size which makes them feel
insecure and leads to lack of confidence which make them depressed in the long run.
These are one of the major reasons for the cause of suicide among the young adults in
Bunbury which is serious and detrimental to the society.
Conclusion
Young adults in Bunbury are seen to be facing several health issues however the most
common issues that are faced by the young adults are obesity and other mental illness like
anxiety and depression. It can be seen that these health issues have possessed a greater threat
to the society as social factors like unemployment, income, poverty and many more are seen
to have contributed to the rise of these illness among the young adults which has led to grave
consequences like the rise of suicide rates among young adults which is a huge social issue. It
is important for Bunbury to come up with effective strategies which will help in reducing
these issues and also contribute to the positive and healthy lifestyle of young adults for the
overall wellbeing of the young adults in Bunbury.

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