Funded Research Project

Young people, preventive health discourses and self care

Chief Investigator: Dr Mary O'Brien

Funded by: ARC Discovery Project grant 2004–2006

Project Summary: Preventive health approaches aim to enhance health through enabling individuals to engage in health care practices. Health has become a key aspect in how people construct their identities. Whilst young people are a key target for preventive health messages, little is known about the impact of these messages on their sense of self. This project will analyse how young people internalise preventive health messages. This ethnographic research examines how health messages about drug use, motherhood and physical activity shape young people and their bodies. It compares the consequences across three arenas, of engaging successfully and unsuccessfully with self care practices.