Help 4U

What is the Division's Help 4U (H4U) program?
H4U provides workshops at schools for Year 9 and 10 secondary students. Facilitated by a GP and other health professionals such as a school nurse, the program builds relationships with young people at a time in their lives when they can both most need help, but find it most difficult to reach out. The Division schedules and pays GPs to attend, and provides facilitator training, manuals and kits.

History of the Help 4U (H4U) program?
H4U has evolved from the Health Access Workshop, which was developed by the Victorian Centre for Adolescent Health in 1992. Following the 1997 Victorian Suicide Prevention Task Force report, the Division worked with Drs Kay Atkinson and Morton Rawlinson to introduce the program. By 2004, the Youth Health Access Program was running in most local secondary schools.

The program was reviewed in 2007, with input by GPs, schools, community and health workers and other Divisions of General Practice with adolescent health programs. Subsequently relaunched in 2008, H4U consists of two 1.5 hour workshops run over 2 weeks, with class sized groups of Year 9 students. Workshops are co facilitated by a school based facilitator and a GP.

Program aims
By building relationships between adolescents and health professionals, the program encourages young people to seek help when they need it for the many issues they face. It also educates GP’s on the health needs of young adolescents, and gives a positive approach to providing a friendly manner when dealing with those needs at local practices.

Where are we heading with H4U?
H4U facilitator training is scheduled as needed, one on one, on the job and in small groups.
Dr Wendy Connor was appointed GP Advisor for H4U early in 2008. With many years of experience in working with young people, she has advised on many aspects of the program from GP recruitment to program materials, and co facilitated H4U facilitator training events run this year. 16 GPs and 16 school based facilitators – teachers, school nurses and welfare coordinators - attended H4U facilitator training and networking events held in May and June 2008. These events provided a forum to meet others involved in the program, and to try out new activities and materials.

A number of schools have scheduled H4U since then, and feedback from students, teachers and GPs has been overwhelmingly positive. The Division is aiming to provide H4U to all Year 9 students in the region by 2010. 26 Facilitators were trained in 2009. The Division cuts across the Hume Region to 22 Secondary Schools. New facilitators will be trained as needed, to cover staff changes and new GP’s coming to practices within the Division.