Let's Talk About Adolescent Health 2

Today, during my tutorial class, my colleagues nearly gave me a knock on my head because I have not written the follow up part of adolescent health. Don't take sides with them ooooo as they were the reason behind my not writing all this while because they have been distracting me with all these tutorials. 😀😀😜😜. 

Please DO NOT believe a word of what I just wrote. On the contrary, they encouraged me to write again today. When I said in my last post that I hope I would not be away again for three months, little did I know that it was going to come to pass. Hehehehe. I don become prophetess.😇😏😏🙈🙈🙈

In the last post, the focus was on a young girl who thought she was ready for adult life and eventually missed her period (or have you found it for her in the last three months that I was away?😗). As a physician, I would say pregnancy is the least of her problems. There are worse things that can happen to someone having unprotected sex and those are the things I will broach in this episode.

INTRODUCTION

Adolescents are children between the ages 10 to 19. Early teen from age 10-14 and late teen from age 15-19. They are important us in public health for the following reasons.

1. They form a large part of our population (about 15%) 

2. The choices they make during this period will affect their adult life and so determine their productivity.

3. They of special interest globally.

Generally, behavioral patterns established during these developmental periods help determine young people's current health status and their risk for developing chronic diseases in adulthood.

Although adolescence and young adulthood are generally healthy times of life, several important public health and social problems either peak or start during these years. Examples include:

• Homicide
• Armed robbery/ gangsters
• Rape
• Motor vehicle crashes, including those caused by drinking and driving
• Substance use and abuse
• Smoking
• Sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• Teen and unplanned pregnancies
• Homelessness e.g street children

Because they are in developmental transition, adolescents and young adults are particularly sensitive to environmental factors. Addressing the positive development of young people facilitates their adoption of healthy behaviors and helps to ensure a healthy and productive future adult population.

Why Is Adolescent Health Important?

Adolescence is a critical transitional period that includes the biological changes of puberty and the need to negotiate key developmental tasks. At this stage of development, the adolescent feels on top of the world. He thinks he knows it all. They call their parents "old school". I remember us saying to our uncle some years ago that "big boys no dey wear pants, an boxers". I also remember my brother telling our uncle that he should iron his trousers without crease as big boys trousers does not have "gator". Now my brother wears the razor sharp gator on his suits. Imagine that! But then years ago, he knew it all!!!

It is important for our youths to navigate this milestone as hitch free as possible. Health outcomes for adolescents and young adults are grounded in their social environments and are frequently mediated by their behaviors. Behaviors of young people are influenced at the individual, peer, family, school, community, and societal levels. It is also worthy of note that the leading causes of illness and death among adolescents and young adults are largely preventable. 

Family

Yoruba people say that "he who wants to catch a monkey must behave like one". If a parents understands his child and the adolescent phase, he will be able to navigate it smoothly with that child. 

• Communication is key. Adolescents who communicate well with their parents are less likely to engage in risky behaviors.
• Parents who provide supervision and are involved with their adolescents' activities are promoting a safe environment in which to explore opportunities.
• The children of families living in poverty are more likely to have health conditions and poorer health status, as well as less access to and utilization of health care.

School

• Who are the teachers your children are exposed to? Is he a pedophile or one who allows them play on his phone in school? Thereby distracting them from school work? Does he show them pictures and videos with adult contents?
• Who are your children's friends? Are they well mannered? Do you know them and their parents?
• What type of environment does the school have? Is the compound porous? What is their course content?

Neighborhoods

The neighborhood a child grows in is very important. Adolescents growing up in distressed neighborhoods will likely pick up a gun and rob. When I went to Lagos last February for update course in LUTH, I was lodged in a hotel in the heart of a distressed neighborhood. From my hotel window, I watch drama tire. There was always an excuse for a fight. No be ordinary fight o, dem go break bottle and tear cloth. No be small thing. They always seemed so angry and aggressive. They are at risk for a variety of negative outcomes, including poor physical and mental health, delinquency, and risky sexual behavior

Media Exposure

The media now is not helping matters. Adolescents who are exposed to media portrayals of violence, sexual content, smoking, and drinking are at risk for adopting these behaviors. Social media has also made things worse. We have heard of innocent girls murdered by Facebook lovers. Parents have to be very vigilant and educate their children on these things.

We can go on and on without exhausting the list but I think one major thing that parents of this generation cannot afford to do is not properly educating their children on sex, adulthood etc. Our parents got away with it because we didn't have the kind of exposure that these children have now. Now is not the era of lying to children or just saying that you would get pregnant by just going near a boy. Now is the time for the truth! Talk to your kids before someone teaches them the wrong things.