Improving the Experiences of Young Adults with the Australian Healthcare System

Young adults (18-25 years) are struggling with the transition to becoming autonomous users of healthcare services. Although barriers to healthcare accessibility for young adults such as cost and difficulty navigating the healthcare system have been identified, the interactions and relationships between these barriers has not been explored in depth. Eleven interviews were conducted with young adults from New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Inductive thematic analysis showed young adults’ experiences of barriers across policy, institutional, community, interpersonal and individual levels. These factors contributed to suboptimal healthcare experiences and impeded participants’ ability to effectively communicate with healthcare providers, leading to eroding trust between providers and young adult patients. A narrative literature review was conducted to determine the potential for health literacy to empower young adult patients through provision of foundational knowledge and communication skills needed to effectively interact with the healthcare system. All participants supported the subsequent recommendations of education priorities for young adults, expecting increased confidence and ability to self-advocate if provided teaching based on the suggested content. This paper highlights specific targets and directions for future health policy to improve the healthcare experiences of young adults.