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Events & conferences > MYD Seminar series > South Australian research findings on the health and wellbeing of children and youth
South Australian research findings on the health and wellbeing of children and youth
On 19 November 2007, the Ministry of Youth Development in collaboration with Wellington City Council, Boys and Girls Institute, New Zealand Association for Adolescent Health and Development and UNICEF (NZ) hosted Professor Colin MacDougall, Deputy Head (Research), Department of Public Health, School of Medicine (Flinders University, Adelaide) as part of their seminar series.
The seminar was about what recent South Australian research findings
tell us about the health and wellbeing of children and youth?
Associate Professor MacDougall summarised a series of South
Australian studies on how children experience and understand their
social and geographical environments. He reported on studies that
are informed by the interpretive paradigm, the ‘new sociology of
childhood’ and the ‘critical social geographies of childhood.’
These studies are:
- a series of studies with children he first large-scale
interpretive study of how children aged 4-12 interpret physical
activity, places and spaces led to a multi-agency strategy. The second
evaluated the strategy and the third involves of 3-15 year olds and
aims to maximise research transfer by involving government agencies.
Another related study compared how children and young people and their
parents navigated and negotiated chronic disease and physical activity
- within a larger project about the planned closure of a car
factory, a study sought the views of children and young people about
the effect of the closure and drew public policy implications
- again within a larger project capital, the views of children and
young people were sought as case studies of the links between social
capital and health and wellbeing.
Associate Professor MacDougall coordinates the Doctor of Public Health
programme at Flinders University. He has worked as a
psychologist, in a community health service and as a public health
academic. He has co-edited a book on health promotion for Oxford
University Press and published on physical activity, qualitative
research methodology, intersectoral action, and community participation.
Currently, he is involved in research on location and health, and
participation of children in health promotion; with particular
relevance to the relationship between child development, equity, health
and wellbeing and control over the environment.
More Information
Professor Colin MacDougall's presentation is available to download
under the "Related documents" heading below (note: this is a large file
so it could take a couple of minutes to download).
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