Mapping Child Health and Wellbeing to Address Inequities

A world-first online tool to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people by helping to understand inequities was launched on 8 October 2024 at The University of Western Australia.

The Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas was developed by The University of Western Australia and QUT and is supported by the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), the Ian Potter and Minderoo Foundations, and partners from across Australia.

UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Amit Chakma said the creation of the Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas marked an important milestone in our collective efforts to improve the lives of children and young people.

“At UWA, we believe that the wellbeing of children and young people is a critical foundation for the future prosperity of our society,” Professor Chakma said.

“Our University is committed to fostering health and wellbeing research, and the Atlas is another testament to the value we place on shaping healthier and more inclusive futures for young Australians.

“UWA is proud to support this initiative through our strong partnerships with government, research organisations, and the Minderoo and Ian Potter Foundations, which have made this significant next stage a reality.”

Project lead Associate Professor Rebecca Glauert, from UWA’s School of Population and Global Health, said the Atlas was a free mapping resource that created location-specific data of children and young people’s health and wellbeing indicators.

“The Atlas highlights key indicators across health, education, and social outcomes, giving policymakers, researchers, and community leaders the ability to make data-driven decisions,” Professor Glauert said.

Atlas Patron Professor Fiona Stanley AC CitWA said the project could not have come at a more important time.

“The Atlas is going to be able to measure things that are really important for child health and wellbeing and hopefully hold governments to account,” Professor Stanley said.

“This is a database that is available for the whole community — it’s about democratising data so it’s not hidden from anybody and is available universally.”

Data-Driven Insights Empowering Communities

The Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas empowers communities to address specific health, education, and social needs using data-driven insights. 

For instance, in the Central Great Southern region of WA, the Atlas revealed high rates of child dental hospitalisations, prompting a targeted community initiative that secured funding for preventive dental services. By identifying critical issues such as this, the Atlas enables stakeholders to develop and fund interventions that directly enhance wellbeing outcomes for children and young people across Australia

Project Lead Nominated for National Award

In recognition of the value of the Atlas, project lead Associate Professor Rebecca Glauert is a finalist for the Digital & Data Health Innovation Award sponsored by Digital Health CRC at Research Australia’s Health and Medical Research Awards.  Assoc. Prof. Glauert was nominated by Dr Merran Smith, Chief Executive Population Health Research Network, The University of Western Australia, and Anne Hollonds, National Children’s Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission.

Learn more about the Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas.

This article is based on a media release from UWA. 

The Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas received investment (doi.org/10.47486/DP728) from the ARDC. The ARDC is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).