Young people and health

The Association for Young People’s Health has published Adolescent Health Update 2014, providing a snapshot of the state of young people's health. The draws on the latest statistics and outlines the priority areas for the next two years. It concludes that more needs to be done to support the health needs of the 10 to 24 age group and highlights the current shortfall in mental health support for young people, and calls for more young people's participation in the design, delivery and feedback on health services and highlights the value of targeting health provision in schools and colleges. To download the report visit www.ayph.org.uk/publications/553_yp%20health%20update%202014%20updated%2013%20August.pdf.

The Patient Information Forum has published a free summary of a guide to producing health information for children and young people. For further information visit www.pifonline.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/pif-resources. To download the guide visit www.pifonline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/PiF-Guide-to-Producing-Health-Information-for-Children-and-Young-People-At-a-glance1.pdf.

The National Children's Bureau is recruiting young people from around the country as researchers for two topics of research:

• The diabetes specialist group will be looking at several projects about children and young people's experiences of living with diabetes.
• The health transitions group is a project looking at older young people living with disabilities who may be making the move from children's health care to adult health care.

NCB will pay travel costs and where travel in a day is not possible overnight accommodation. If a carer is also required to travel, for health reasons, then their costs can be paid too. For further information visit www.ncb.org.uk/what-we-do/research/involving-children-and-young-people-in-research/want-to-join-the-young-ncb-research-advisors. To apply online visit https://pujajoshi.typeform.com/to/dFlclQ.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is developing work on involving children and young people in their inspection work as young Experts by Experience (ExE). To help with this work CQC has set up a children and young people's advisory group that meets every three months to help design the best ways of working with children and young people. The advisory group has now been in place for a year and half and some of the young people have gone on to become young ExE.

CQC is now looking to recruit more children and young people, aged eight to 21 years, who have experience of using care services, or of caring for someone who use services. They are particularly looking for children and young people from the following groups:

• Younger children aged 8 to 13; 
• Young carers;
• Young people with experience of using mental health services;                                                 
• Young people with experience of using substance misuse services;
• Looked after children and young people; and                                                                     
• Young people from South of England.

In return for their time CQC will give children and young people £30 high street vouchers and will also pay for their travel expenses. To apply contact Aileen Hamdan at Aileen.Hamdan@cqc.org.uk for an application form.

The deadline for completed application forms is 9am on Monday 15 September. Successful applicants will be informed by Wednesday 24 September and will be invited to attend the next quarterly meeting on Saturday 11 October in either Bath or Bristol, venue to be confirmed, from 11am to 3pm.