Youth mental health hospital cases explode

A new project will research why there has been such a jump in young Tasmanians presenting with mental health issues.

MENTAL health presentations by young Tasmanians at the Royal Hobart Hospital’s emergency department have doubled in the past three years.

Figures show there were 200 presentations for anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and other mental health issues from Tasmanians under the age of 18 in 2016, compared with more than 400 in 2019.

Researchers hope to find out why there has been such a jump in Tasmania, which is consistent with spikes across Australia and overseas, with a new 12-month research project starting this month.

Doctor Nick Watkins and Doctor Viet Tran who are both emergency specialists at the Royal Hobart Hospital. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

The Kids are Not Okay project has received $25,000 in funding from the Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation along with $6000 from the PREDICT (Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative) network through the Medical Research Future Fund.

It will look at the age, gender and family dynamics of young mental health patients who visit hospital in a bid to try to identify any gaps in the system and provide better care.

The information will be used as part of a network of studies in hospitals across Australia and New Zealand.

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Royal Hobart Hospital doctor and emergency medicine researcher Viet Tran said it was a disturbing trend to have more young people presenting with concerns and it was important to understand why.

He said 50 per cent of such disorders presented before a patient turned 14, with these patients often continuing to visit hospitals as adults. Most young people presenting at the RHH were 14 to 17 years old.

“It’s good to have a certain level of anxiety, it’s quite normal,’’ Dr Tran said. “Having emotions is part of being human. This includes feeling happy, sad or anxious. As with everything, too much of something is never good for you, including emotions. So when some of these emotions are not regulated they start to impede on daily life and, at this point, become something that needs to be addressed.’’

Other studies suggest higher expectations and pressure to succeed were contributing factors, along with social media, easier access to world news, family instability and drug and alcohol abuse.