Improving Health to Reduce Risk of Youth Reoffending: Results of a Nurse Navigator Program for People Involved in the Youth Justice System

Abstract

Emerging research demonstrates that poor health is a predictor of offending and that this relationship may be mediated by other known predictors of offending, including problems in education and family relationships. This study examines the initial results of a new program in Queensland, Australia, which aims to lower the risk of reoffending among young people by proving targeted healthcare assistance. The results show that the program improved the overall health of the participants. Importantly, the program also led to improvements in other domains that are known predictors of offending, even though in most cases no direct assistance was provided in those domains. Therefore, this study lends support to the research showing there may be causal links between health and known predictors of offending. This finding shows that assistance in health care should be considered when designing programs for young people who have been involved in the justice system.