PROMOTION OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH

Adolescent Health is the optimal state of well being in all areas of life—physical, emotional, cognitive, social and spiritual. By using the broad definition of health adolescents are healthy when they:

1. engage in healthy behaviors that contribute to a healthy lifestyle;

2. have the capacity to thrive in spite of stressors in life;

3. successfully engage in the developmental tasks of adolescence; and

4. experience a sense of wholeness and well-being.

STRATEGIES IN PROMOTING THE HEALTH AND WELL BEING OF ADOLESCENTS.

1. Decreasing the Risk Factors that contribute to risky behaviors and poor health outcomes.

2. Increasing the Protective Factors that contribute to resiliency and healthy outcomes.

3. Providing Opportunities for young people to successfully meet the developmental needs of adolescence.

4. Building Healthy Communities and Schools that support and nurture adolescents.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE ADOLESCENT HEALTH PROGRAMS

These characteristics can directly impact adolescents and their families and be the guiding research-based principles for building systems to support healthy youth and young adults.

1. Adolescents are viewed as resources to be nurtured and supported, not problems to be fixed.

2. Strategies are integrated and coordinated.

A. There is a diversity of strategies that focus not only on adolescents, but also on their social environment including families, peers, schools, and communities.

B. A combination of prevention, health promotion and healthy youth development strategies are used.

3. Youth are involved and engaged as active partners in the design, implementation and evaluation of strategies.

4. There is a good fit between strategies and the adolescents on which they focus.

A. The strategies are responsive to cultural, ethnic and other forms of diversity.

B. They are developmentally appropriate.

5. The people involved understand adolescent health and well being.

6. There is a focus on building and strengthening relationships.

A. The strategy focus on strengthening families. Teens who have warm, involved relationships with their parents are more likely to do well in school, have better social skills and have lower rates of risky sexual behaviors than their peers.

B. The strategy purposely focuses on building supportive adult-youth relationships.

7. Young people are supported to make successful transitions.

A. They help youth develop basic skills.

B. They help young people find and become involved in meaningful roles in their communities.

C. They strengthen the social supports available to adolescents and their families.

8. They provide an array of opportunities for young people so that risk behaviors are not the desirable option open to youth.