May 18, 2023
Cure Kids keen to fund mental health added to child health research
For the first time medical research charity Cure Kids has included mental health in its annual State of Child Health report.
Co-chair Terryann Clark says the number of hospitalisations of young people for mental health and behavioural issues is twice what it was 20 years ago – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
She says indicators like the high rate of suicide among Maori boys is an indicator of society in crisis, and many of the solutions lie outside the health system, in addressing poverty, homelessness and discrimination.
Cure Kids is looking to support creative approaches such as the work done Maori providers to help rangatahi see a better life for themselves.
There also needs to be more support for some of the innovative approaches to treatment she sees in the sector.
“I’m really excited to think about the ways we can use research to identify what works uniquely here in Aotearoa – stop bringing in models from overseas and plonking them here and thinking they are going to work for Maori. How do we create uniquely Maori strategies that really privilege our knowledge?” Professor Clark says.