Adolescence is a time of unique growth and opportunity. Good health and wellbeing in adolescence brings benefits across the life-course and into the next generation. The Centre for Adolescent Health generates knowledge and provides training for practitioners and policymakers about the best investments for healthy development during the adolescent years.
The Centre for Adolescent Health is a world-leading technical and research group based in Melbourne, Australia.
- In our research we work with partners across Australia and with leading groups in both high and low income countries across the world.
- We are Australia’s leading provider of education and training on adolescent health and have trained professionals from across the globe.
- We work with policy makers across sectors, nationally and internationally, and are the World Health Organization’s only globally oriented Collaborating Centre in adolescent health outside Western Europe.
We are part of
The Royal Children's Hospital campus in Melbourne, Australia. Our key partners for Research and Education are the
Murdoch Children's Research Institute, and the University of Melbourne,
Department of Paediatrics.
We work closely with The Royal Children’s Hospital’s
Department of Adolescent Medicine including its specialist services in eating disorders, gender identity and chronic illness.
What is adolescence?
Adolescence is the phase of life stretching between childhood and adulthood. During adolescence, an individual acquires the physical, cognitive, emotional and social capabilities, together with the economic resources that provide the foundation for later life health and wellbeing.
How we conceptualise and define adolescence influences the scope and focus of laws, policies, and programmes intended to protect and empower adolescents. For these reasons, the Centre for Adolescent Health believes in a definition of adolescence as 10 - 24 years of age, which aligns closely with patterns of adolescent growth and popular understandings of this life phase.
Conceptual representation of the Centre for Adolescent Health
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Based at the Children’s campus in Melbourne and established by the Royal Children’s Hospital in 1991, the Centre for Adolescent Health is a vibrant and dynamic academic centre that builds on many local and international partnerships and collaborations to generate knowledge, build capacity and advocate to advance the health and wellbeing of all adolescents, locally and globally. Our four major domains of interest are developmental science, global adolescent health, adolescent responsive systems, and education & learning, informed by a youth reference group. Our staff are largely employed by the Campus partners; the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, The University of Melbourne and the Royal Children’s Hospital. Beyond our core campus partners, we have major links with various other Australian institutions including Deakin University, Burnet Institute, Telethon Kids Institute, and Curtin University. We also collaborate with many different academic institutions and agencies across the world, including the United Nations. This includes the World Health Organization which acknowledges our expertise through designation as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Adolescent Health.
A new seminar series on adolescent health
Advancing Adolescent Health in the Asia Pacific: A virtual community to share knowledge and support collaboration is an opportunity to come together to share knowledge, showcase new findings and/or research methods with the overarching objective of helping to build capacity in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia, to improve adolescent health and wellbeing. Read more here.