PROBLEM
The health status and unmet health needs of adolescents in the United States are well documented and are cause for serious concern. Nearly three-quarters of all deaths among adolescents occur from preventable injury, both intentional and unintentional. Substance abuse and unsafe sexual activity are serious problems among adolescents, and a growing number of adolescents are overweight or obese.
Improving the health of our youth is a critical investment in the health and productivity of the nation’s future adult population. A collaborative effort among parents/families, schools, health care providers, community agencies, educational institutions, employers, and government agencies is needed to have a substantial impact on positive youth development. Public health and preventive medicine professionals in particular are uniquely situated to influence health systems and health environments that affect adolescents’ behaviors.
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
The goal of the project is to apply the tools of preventive medicine to improve adolescent health. The objectives are to: (1) strengthen the American College of Preventive Medicine’s (ACPM’s) organizational commitment to adolescent health issues; (2) improve the ability of ACPM members to apply the tools of population medicine and clinical prevention to adolescent health problems; (3) improve the ability of other health professionals and health systems to apply the tools of population medicine and clinical prevention to adolescent health problems; and (4) work actively with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau and other project partners to forge a multi-disciplinary, cross-cutting approach to improve adolescent health.
METHODOLOGY
In the upcoming year of the cooperative agreement, ACPM will focus its activities on the problem of substance abuse (with a special emphasis on alcohol use) among adolescents. In previous years ACPM has focused on the problems of sexual activity during adolescence and obesity. Beyond the upcoming year, ACPM anticipates violence prevention as the focus issue.
ACPM has formed an Adolescent Health Committee within ACPM that continues to actively guides the College’s efforts in this area. ACPM has also formed a Preventive Medicine Coalition on Adolescent Health to stimulate adolescent health activity among partner organizations and to promote the use of educational materials developed under the cooperative agreement.
Other activities include: (1) holding at least one session each year on adolescent health issues at ACPM’s annual meeting (and then making the sessions available for viewing via ACPM’s website); (2) convening one educational program on adolescent health via teleconference each year with at least 100 people participating in each teleconference; (3) developing at least one policy or practice statement each year that discusses interventions to help achieve one or more of the Healthy People 2010 critical objectives for adolescents; (4) establishing a section on adolescent health in ACPM’s quarterly newsletter; (5) constructing an adolescent health section on ACPM’s website; and (6) hosting meetings of Partners in Program Planning for Adolescent Health (PIPPAH) to facilitate the exchange of information between PIPPAH grantees.
COORDINATION
The project will be coordinated by ACPM and the ACPM Adolescent Health Committee. ACPM will work with HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, members of the Preventive Medicine Coalition on Adolescent Health, and other PIPPAH grantees in developing program activities.
EVALUATION
ACPM has a deep commitment to performance measurement. ACPM will work with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau to agree on specific project performance measures using the following criteria: (1) how closely each objective relates to the project goals; (2) whether the performance objective is easily measurable; and (3) whether ACPM can directly influence the objective being measured.
ANNOTATION
The health status and unmet health needs of adolescents are well documented and are causes for serious concern. The goal of this project is to apply the tools of preventive medicine to improve adolescent health. In the first year of the project, the American College of Preventive Medicine will focus on the problem of sexual activity during adolescence. Activities under the project include forming a Preventive Medicine Coalition on Adolescent Health, holding sessions on adolescent health at each ACPM annual meeting, convening educational programs on adolescent health via teleconference, developing policy and practice statements on adolescent health, establishing a column on adolescent health in ACPM’s quarterly newsletter, and constructing an adolescent health section on ACPM’s website.
KEYWORDS
Adolescent Health Programs; Adolescents; Adolescent Nutrition; Adolescent Risk Behavior Prevention; Alcohol; Community Based Preventive Health; Health Promotion; Injury Prevention; Maternal and Child Health Bureau; Nutrition; Preventive Health Care; Preventive Health Care Education; Professional Education in Adolescent Health; School Age Children; School Health Programs; School Health Services; Sexual Behavior; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Substance Abuse; Substance Abuse Prevention; Violence; Violence Prevention.
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