Adolescent Health Management

The present state of affairs of adolescent health status clearly shows that the condition of today's youth has significantly deteriorated as revealed by severe malnutrition, poor reproductive health, high aggression, increased depression, increased suicidal rates, drug use, substance abuse, etc., which are the clear indications of the challenges that adolescents are facing. No doubt that they are at risk because they lack social support to seek accurate information and services. In such a scenario, there is an urgent need to provide today's youth with new set of ways and systems to deal with the changing demands of life. It is essential that the adolescents be helped to develop skills inherently to handle a wide variety of choices, changes, and the stressors. It calls for a need of life skill education for adolescents so as to enable them to develop psycho-social competencies and interpersonal skills which help them to make informed decisions, communicate effectively, and develop coping and self-management skills so as to enable them to lead a healthy and productive life.

Psycho-Social Health

Adolescence is the period when development is less gradual and more salutatory, suggestive of some ancient period of storm and stress when old moorings were broken and higher level attained. Important functions previously non-existent arise. Every step of the upward way is strewn with wreckage of body, mind, and morals. It is inherently a time when all young people go through some degree of emotional and behavioral upheaval before establishing a more stable equilibrium in adulthood. Interest in adult life and in vocations develops. Youth awakes to a new world and understands neither it nor him. Character and personality are taking form, but everything is plastic. Self-feelings and ambitions are increased, and every trait and faculty is pliable to exaggeration and excess. Both cognitive and behavioral processes affect them, thus affecting the psycho-social health of adolescents.

Summary and Conclusion

Adolescence is the transitional phase, which is formative, impressionable, and hence, vulnerable. The healthy development of adolescents depends on several interactive and complex factors like socio-economic and environmental factors in which they are born and brought up, the interpersonal relationships they develop with peers and adults, values of the community, and the available opportunities for education and employment. For the health management of adolescents, “psychological and interpersonal skills” need to be acquired to help them to communicate better, to make more informed and balanced decisions, to avoid risky situations, and to cope with stress as these life skills shape attitudes and ultimately lead to pro-social behavior and productive lifestyles. Moreover, the importance of designing health services that can attract and engage adolescents, create opportunities to discuss sensitive health and behavioral issues, and offer high-quality care as well as guidance for health promotion and disease prevention cannot be undermined.

Sexual and Reproductive Health

Around 1.2 billion people, or one out of every six persons of the world's population, are adolescents, aged 10 to 19 years. Most of them are presumed to be healthy, but there is still substantial premature death, illness, and injury among adolescents. Illnesses hinder the ability of adolescents to grow and develop to their full potential. Early pregnancy and child birth, unprotected sex, and/or exposure to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections can jeopardize not only their current health but also their future health as adults and even the health of their future generations. Promoting healthy behaviors during adolescence and taking steps to better protect young people from health risks are critical for the prevention of health problems in adulthood and for the future health of coming generations as well as their ability to develop and thrive.

Introduction

Adolescence, the second decade of life, is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood marked by rapid changes, which are physical, social, and psychological in nature. Of the 12 million girls born in India every year, 1.5 million girls die before the age of one and one out of every four does not live to celebrate her fifteenth birthday due to gender discrimination and gross neglect. This can be linked to neglect of females as infants, as children, as adolescents, and as mothers. Impaired mental and emotional health is a precursor or consequence of many health-risk behaviors such as physical, sexual, social, or emotional abuse. These dilemmas arise out of everyday issues like peer influence, dating identity, emerging sexuality, independence, separation, identity crises, anxiety, and responsibility as well as more serious ones like violent behavior, experimental sex, teenage suicides, and other health-related disorders.

Physical Health

Though adolescence is relatively a healthier period of life as compared to childhood, several risk factors of adult diseases having their onset during adolescence can be prevented with proper interventions during this period, though with many challenges. Data on the health and nutritional status of adolescents is of vital importance not merely in the context of improving the quality of their lives but also for providing valuable insight into issues that are likely to have profound bearing on the future generations. However, the exclusive data pertaining to the adolescent health issues in Indian scenario is not available as compared to other nations. Hence, the data pertaining to South East Asia region for comparison has been referred to, in which India is a major constituent country. The data about important adolescent health issues in different areas is scarce. Hence, detailed investigation of the incidence and interventions on adolescent health issues is the need of the hour.