Figures 13-18 (next few pages) provide results that show how young people rated their
experiences with the health services and health professionals they had accessed in the
past 12 months. In some respects, young people’s experiences were quite positive.
However, in other areas, significant percentages of experiences were less positive.
Figure 13 presents the results of a series of questions asking about whether each of a
number of aspects of their experiences with health services was always, sometimes or
rarely or never true.
Figure 13 shows that in approximately three-quarters of experiences, young people
reported that they were always treated with respect, overall were helped and overall
were treated well. However, in over one-quarter of experiences, the young people
reported that the health professionals rarely or never discussed confidentiality with
them. In 18 per cent and 14 per cent of experiences, respectively, young people
reported that they were rarely or never encouraged to voice their own opinion about
their healthcare or helped to link with other health services that they needed.
Moreover, the large percentages of experiences in which the young people reported
that various statements were only sometimes true indicate a lack of consistency in
health services for young people.
Figure 13: Experiences with health services (usually / sometimes/ never questions) – All young people 73 74 9 21 20 44 46 53 47 55 56 62 61 60 70 78 24 22 20 39 42 22 34 29 40 34 34 24 31 35 24 20 3 4 70 39 39 33 20 18 13 11 10 14 8 5 6 3 0 20 40 60 80 100
Overall, I was treated very well Overall, they helped me They didn't really listen to me It was too expensive I had to wait a long time in the waiting room
before I could see someone They discussed confidentiality with me They encouraged me to voice my opinions about
my own healthcare
They helped me link with other health services that I needed
It was easy to get appointments at times that were convenient for me
I felt really comfortable there It was a welcoming place for young people I understood what would remain confidential I got enough information about my health issue I understood everything that was being said to
me
I felt they wanted to help me I was treated with respect
Base: All experiences combined in last 12 months (n=2783)
% Always true Sometimes true Rarely or never true
Figure 14 presents results for a set of yes/no questions.
Figure 14: Experiences with health services (yes/no questions) – All young people
*Not asked for doctor or nurse in a hospital emergency department, physiotherapist, dentist, occupational therapist, optometrist, speech pathologist or skin specialist
36 49 60 64 76 89 64 51 40 36 24 11 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
I was asked how I feel about family and friends (n=1527)* I was asked how I feel about school or
work (n=1527)* I was seen on my own for at least part
of the visit (n=2783) I was asked how I feel about my mood
and general well-being (n=1527)* I could go on my own, without having to have my parent or carer with me, if I
didn't want to (n=2783) The place was easy to get to (n=2783)
Base: Seen a health professional in the past 12 months (All health professionals combined)
% Yes % No %
Q.3. Is each of the following statements true about the health professional you saw?
Note: Results based on multi response question and may add to more than 100%.
There were no significant variations in experiences by age, gender or region. However,
young people from vulnerable or disadvantaged sub-groups reported some variations in
experiences (refer Figure 15 & Figure 16). Several of note include:
Young people in out of home care, in unstable accommodation, with
chronic illness, who speak a language other than English at home, who
identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, and young carers were less
likely than all young people to feel positive about their treatment overall
and less likely to report that they were treated with respect. (Figure 15)
Young people who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander reported
the most negative experiences from the list of aspects in Figure 15.
Young people who identify as LGBI reported similar experiences to all
young people who participated in the survey. (Figure 15)
Young people from vulnerable or disadvantaged sub-groups were often
more likely to be asked about school, work, family and friends than all
young people. (Figure 16)
A lower percentage of carers and those in unstable accommodation and
who speak a language other than English at home felt that they could go to
see a health professional on their own. (Figure 16)
Young people with a disability were less likely to report that they were
seen on their own for at least part of the visit. It is possible that in some
cases the nature of the disability required a parent or carer to be with
them. Also less likely to report that they were seen on their own for at
least part of the visit was young people who speak a language other than
English at home. (Figure 16)
Figure 15: Experiences with health services (usually / sometimes/ never questions) – by sub group (% always true)
All exper- iences (n=2783) Carer (n=131) Out of home care (n=107) Home- less or unstable accomm (n=145) LGBTI (n=162) ATSI (n=55) LOTE (n=430) Disa- bility (n=126) Chronic illness (n=157) % Always true % % % % % % % % % Overall, I was treated very
well 73 65 62 59 74 60 68 69 63 Overall, they helped me 74 61 61 65 75 59 70 69 56
I was treated with respect 78 62 67 68 79 55 75 77 67
I felt they wanted to help me 70 62 59 61 75 60 60 71 60
I understood what would
remain confidential 62 60 59 58 68 51 57 70 59 I got enough information
about my health issue 61 54 54 56 65 40 55 68 50 I understood everything that
was being said to me 60 50 57 55 66 47 57 64 56 It was a welcoming place for
young people 56 57 47 52 57 35 46 60 52 I felt really comfortable
there 55 51 48 47 59 48 47 64 48 They helped me link with
other health services that I needed
53 53 49 50 60 50 43 66 49 It was easy to get
appointments at times that were convenient for me
47 47 51 44 51 38 41 50 42 They encouraged me to
voice my opinions about my own healthcare
46 50 45 42 54 30 33 55 49 They discussed
confidentiality with me 44 48 50 44 49 42 45 51 45 It was too expensive 21 21 25 24 16 22 17 31 15 I had to wait a long time in
the waiting room 20 29 26 29 21 18 23 31 21 They didn't really listen to
me 9 18 20 14 11 19 9 22 11
Green = 8 percentage points higher than total, Red = 8 percentage points lower than total Underlined = statistically significant variation from the total (p<.05)
Figure 16: Experiences with health services (yes/no questions) – by sub group (% yes) All exper- iences (n=2783 / 1527*) Carer (n=131 / 88*) Out of home care (n=107 / 72*) Home- less or unstable accomm (n=145 / 90*) LGBTI (n=162 / 93*) ATSI (n=55 / 33*) LOTE n=199 / 115*) Disa- bility (n=126 / 78) Chronic illness (n=157 / 101*) % Yes % % % % % % % % % The place was easy to get to 89 81 84 90 86 83 93 88 81
I could go on my own, without having to have my parent or carer with me, if I didn't want to
76 61 72 67 81 80
51 85 78
I was asked how I feel about my mood and general well-
being*
64 77 80 64 67 74
62 77 73 I was seen on my own for at
least part of the visit 60 63 63 54 69 64 42 49 56 I was asked how I feel about
school or work* 49 57 63 48 56 61 41 62 58 I was asked how I feel about
family and friends* 36 57 63 35 44 52 24 50 50
Green = 8 percentage points higher than total, Red = 8 percentage points lower than total Underlined = statistically significant variation from the total (p<.05)
*Not asked for doctor or nurse in a hospital emergency department, physiotherapist, dentist, occupational therapist, optometrist, speech pathologist or skin specialist
Figure 17 and Figure 18 (following pages) present experiences results for key health
services. Some differences among services include:
Experiences with physiotherapists and psychologists / counsellors / social
workers were generally the most positive; those with hospital services and
clinics or school nurses were generally the least positive.
GP and hospital health services were reported to be the least welcoming
places for young people, while psychologist/counsellor/social worker and
physiotherapist health services were the most welcoming for young
people.
Assurances of confidentiality were much more prevalent with
psychologists/ counsellors/social workers than for all other health services.
GPs and clinical or school nurses afforded young people the best
opportunity to go on their own to the service without a parent or carer if
they wanted.
Although there were some positive experiences with clinic or school nurses
in terms of their delivery of services, particularly regarding the ability of
young people to attend on their own, young people were concerned about
other aspects of the service such as lack of confidentiality.
Figure 17: Experiences with health services – by main health services accessed (% always true) All exp- eriences (n=2783) GP (n=776) Hosp emerg (n=162) Hosp clinic (n=150) Psych/ couns- ellor (n=142) Clinic / school nurse (n=211) Physio (n=142) Dentist (n=636) Optom (n=219) % Always true % % % % % % % % % Overall, I was treated very
well 73 69 55 60 78 64 90 78 76 Overall, they helped me 74 70 57 62 67 66 87 79 79 I was treated with respect 78 77 65 68 77 67 89 79 81
I felt they wanted to help
me 70 65 59 61 73 57 87 73 74 I understood what would
remain confidential 62 62 48 52 76 44 58 48 43 I got enough information
about my health issue 61 54 39 50 51 44 75 66 69 I understood everything
that was being said to me 60 52 46 55 59 64 73 62 66 It was a welcoming place
for young people 56 42 36 42 68 59 70 63 63 I felt really comfortable
there 55 47 33 41 58 53 72 59 68 They helped me link with
other health services that I needed
53 45 41 43 45 29 51 40 32
It was easy to get appointments at times that were convenient for me
47 36 23 29 56 46 65 49 66
They encouraged me to voice my opinions about my own healthcare
46 32 32 36 57 34 58 38 45 They discussed
confidentiality with me 44 37 31 39 73 34 41 33 26 It was too expensive 21 12 11 15 18 5 18 22 18 I had to wait a long time in
the waiting room 20 24 44 33 11 11 11 11 13 They didn't really listen to
me 9 6 11 10 10 9 5 8 7
Green = 8 percentage points higher than total, Red = 8 percentage points lower than total Underlined = statistically significant variation from the total (p<.05)
Figure 18: Experiences with health services – by main health services accessed (% yes) All exp- eriences (n=2783) GP (n=776) Hosp emerg (n=162) Hosp clinic (n=150) Psych/ couns- ellor (n=142) Clinic / school nurse (n=211) Physio (n=142) Dentist (n=636) Optom (n=219) % Yes % % % % % % % % % The place was easy to get to 89 61 75 47 86 83 93 86 93 I could go on my own, without
having to have my parent or carer with me, if I didn't want to
76 93 50 65 80 94 86 68 73 I was asked how I feel about my
mood and general well-being* 64 52 - 61 95 57 - - - I was seen on my own for at
least part of the visit 60 36 48 44 89 84 60 71 74 I was asked how I feel about
school or work* 49 33 - 35 95 51 - - - I was asked how I feel about
family and friends* 36 18 - 27 94 35 - - -
Green = 8 percentage points higher than total, Red = 8 percentage points lower than total Underlined = statistically significant variation from the total (p<.05)
*Not asked for doctor or nurse in a hospital emergency department, physiotherapist, dentist, occupational therapist, optometrist, speech pathologist or skin specialist