News
A new youth website, www.thelowdown.co.nz, has been launched by the Ministry of Health.
The Lowdown website is part of the Ministry of Health's National Depression Initiative (NDI). The NDI was launched in October 2006 and includes the television commercials featuring John Kirwan talking about his personal experience of depression, and encouraging people to seek help. To date the response to the campaign has been astounding, with over 25,000 calls made to the Depression Helpline.
Research shows that even though 78 percent of young people recalled the ads, they are less likely to respond to these commercials by seeking help than adults. They tend not to visit GPs and are less likely to use helplines, preferring to get support from other sources such as their friends, family, the Internet, magazines and school counsellors.
The online platform of The Lowdown has been selected to be user-friendly for youth. The site was developed and designed in consultation with youth, and includes online support services.
The Lowdown aims to help young people recognise and understand depression. The site also encourages and enables them to seek appropriate help, including assessing the seriousness of their situation, and if necessary, putting them in touch with health professionals in their areas. The Lowdown team, qualified counsellors who are available through the site, also offer ongoing support. The site promotes the use of self-help strategies, such as exercise, which can be helpful for dealing with mild and moderate depression.
A welcoming community environment, the site features high profile Kiwi role-models, whom youth relate to, talking about experiences with depression that they, or friends and family, have had and how they managed this. The contributions from musicians, sports people, and TV and radio celebrities help remove the stigma around depression and encourage young people to get help.
The site was only launched in December last year, and already other high profile young people have been contacting the Ministry to offer their assistance. The site will be refreshed from time to time, with new stories and features added to keep it fresh and interesting so that young people keep going back there.
The website features several innovative functions to help visitors navigate the site and, more importantly, help them feel they are not alone. They can choose from four online guides to show them around the environment. They can view video stories from role-models and their peers talking about their experiences of depression and offering words of encouragement and support.
Another key feature of the site is the online support facility where visitors can get expert advice from qualified counsellors. After sending a message by email or text to The Lowdown Team, they will receive a personalised response as quickly as possible, and within 24 hours. Users can choose to keep their communication private or allow it to be shared for other people to see.
At the site’s launch, Associate Minister of Health Jim Anderton congratulated all those who have contributed to the creation of the website. "There has been a 20 percent reduction in youth suicide over the last five years, and there is no doubt that the Government's Suicide Prevention Strategy has contributed to that reduction. However, young people have higher rates of depression than the general population, and there are still over a hundred young New Zealanders dying from suicide each year," Minister Anderton said.
"The main barrier to getting help is the stigma of depression and mental illness, and the fact that a lot of young people feel that they should be able to manage on their own. This new website will make it easier for them to get help without worrying about being stigmatized for asking."
"We need tools that are designed to reach young people in a way they can relate to and can easily access. And the best way young people can find out about options to get help is through people they know, trust, admire and identify with."
