By Francis Bautista Sanchez
Oregon Health News
More than one in five Oregon eighth- and 11th-graders experienced unmet mental or physical health care needs in 2022, according to a new state Student Health Survey (SHS) report developed with Oregon youth using the most recent data available.
The findings paint a sobering picture of the challenges youth face in accessing essential care, and the critical role adults play in helping them feel heard and supported.
Key themes from the report include:
Emotional isolation: Students with unmet mental health needs often expressed feelings of defeat and deep isolation, indicating a lack of accessible support systems and trusted adults.
Systemic barriers: Responses cited obstacles such as lack of insurance, long wait times, transportation issues and stigma around seeking help.
Invalidation and silence: A recurring theme in students’ narratives was a sense of being dismissed or not taken seriously. Without meaningful adult intervention, many students reported that their needs were ignored or minimized.
“The data confirm what students have been saying for years: many are struggling, and they don’t feel seen,” said Tom Jeanne, M.D., M.P.H., deputy state health officer and epidemiologist at Oregon Health Authority. “Mental and physical health are deeply interconnected, and when students can’t access care, it affects every part of their lives—including their ability to learn and thrive.”
Students report barriers to accessing health care in all phases of their lives, from individual to systemic challenges. Some students struggle to disclose or even identify their own health care needs. Those able to communicate their needs might have a hard time finding supportive adults who will validate their concerns. Adding to this are the logistical barriers of insurance coverage, out-of-pocket costs, transportation, age of medical consent, scheduling and limited provider availability.
The report underscores the importance of fostering environments in which students feel safe discussing their health needs and adults – parents, educators and health professionals – are empowered to listen and respond effectively.
OHA administers the anonymous, school-based survey annually, collecting responses from more than 45,000 students statewide. The students represent 85 school districts, 327 schools and 29 counties. The SHS was administered at schools between October 2022 and January 2023. Among students reporting unmet health needs, more than 4,200 responded to open-ended questions about the barriers they encountered.
Student responses reflect a complex relationship between physical and mental health. While unmet mental health needs were often reported independently, unmet physical health needs frequently involved emotional or mental health challenges –suggesting that the two cannot be addressed in isolation.
Alexis Zou, a senior at Lake Oswego High School, was a primary author of the Unmet Needs Report and a member of the Oregon Youth Data Council (YDC).
The YDC is an OHA-sponsored program that invites Oregon youth to contribute to decision-making about the survey. Members are involved in all aspects of the survey, including:
- Reviewing survey content.
- Making sense of the results.
- Deciding how to talk about and use the survey.
