Health Promotion Plan Essay

Health Promotion Plan Essay

The realization that health is heterogeneous—affected by multiple factors other than the health system, such as socioeconomic factors—makes health promotion a timely topic. Because of the heterogeneity of health, health problems can be effectively addressed by developing holistic approaches that empower people to take action for their health. Nurses have made significant contributions to health promotion through education and raising awareness of various health issues, advocating for patients’ rights, and developing policies that affect people’s lives (Trommlerová, 2020). In terms of teen pregnancy, as discussed below, nurses are proactive in making advances to reduce the rates of pregnancies and, if they do occur, to alleviate the struggles of teenaged mothers.

Community Health Concern:

Teenage Pregnancy

            Teenage pregnancy is a global health issue that affects low, middle, and high-income countries. Marginalized countries have the highest rates of adolescent pregnancies, which can be attributed to poverty as well as a lack of employment and education opportunities. The American Pregnancy Association (2021) defines adolescent pregnancy as any pregnancy occurring in a woman under the age of 20. Even though young women aged 12 and under are not technically teenagers, if they become pregnant, they are still classified as having a teenage pregnancy.

Health Risks of Teenage Pregnancy

Teenage pregnancies have major health, social, and economic consequences for both teenage mothers and their children. According to the World Health Organization (2020), pregnancy and childhood complications are the leading causes of death in girls aged 15 to 19 years. Babies born to adolescent mothers are at risk of prematurity, low birth weight, being small for gestation age, and having a higher mortality rate (WHO, 2020). Teenage pregnant girls, on the other hand, are at a higher risk of eclampsia, abortions, puerperal endometritis, sexually transmitted infections, systemic infections, maternal mortality and morbidity, and long-term health problems (WHO, 2020). Teenage pregnant girls face a variety of social consequences, including less support from family members, social isolation, stigma, and rejection by violent partners, family, and friends (WHO, 2020). Furthermore, adolescent pregnancies frequently result in school dropout, which reduces the occupational and employment opportunities for teenage pregnant girls. Mental ramifications should not be overlooked, and the girls may have delayed cognitive development as a result of the stressful conditions in the perinatal period and may develop mental health conditions as a result. The risks associated with adolescent pregnancy necessitate effective risk-mitigation strategies.

Importance of the Health Concern (Teenage Pregnancy) for Health Promotion

            The population of interest in this topic is adolescent girls, pregnant adolescent girls, and adolescent mothers. To comprehend the significance of adolescent pregnancy, it is necessary to first highlight the epidemiological aspect of the health issue. In developing countries, 21 million girls aged 15 to 19 become pregnant each year, with 12 million giving birth (WHO, 2020). Furthermore, approximately 777000 births in adolescent girls under the age of 15 have been reported (WHO, 2020). The adolescent-specific fertility rate has decreased by 11.6% over the last 20 years; however, the actual number of childbirths to adolescents has not, which can be explained by the large and growing population of adolescent girls aged 15-19 years (WHO, 2020). According to the statistics, adolescent pregnancy is a monolithic health issue that must be prioritized in the planning of health promotion actions.

A variety of factors contribute to the high rate of adolescent pregnancy. In many societies, girls are pressured to marry and have children at a young age. According to WHO (2020) statistics, at least 39% and 12% of girls marry before reaching the ages of 18 and 15, respectively. There is currently a growing trend of ‘sponsors’ and ‘blessers,’ an emerging topic that has received attention. According to a recent BBC News Africa (2018) documentary, the ‘sponsors’ and ‘blessers’ are people who offer support, typically financial and material, to control the younger companion in exchange for sex and friendship. Adolescent females have been victims of such relationship scams, with disastrous results such as teenage pregnancies, HIV/AIDS infection, teen marriages, and sex trafficking. Furthermore, knowledge gaps, such as a lack of awareness of contraception or where to find it, or even restrictive laws and policies on contraception access, have resulted in teenage pregnancies (WHO, 2020). Sexual violence, defined as any sexual act or attempt to obtain sexual privileges through coercion or violence, has also contributed to the high number of adolescent pregnancies, as most adolescent females report that their first sexual encounters were coerced in some way. Understanding the contributing factors to adolescent pregnancy aids in addressing the specific causes, and is thus relevant in health promotion to such a vulnerable population.

Agreed Upon Health Goals in Collaboration with Teenaged Pregnant Girls

Health Goals

Community and public health nurses play an important role in identifying and developing goals to address local, national, and global health issues. Teenage pregnancies are one of the major health issues affecting the adolescent population; therefore, nurses, while keeping in mind cultural, racial, ethnic, and population demographics, assist the community in developing effective solutions to their problems. In terms of adolescent pregnancy, the agreed-upon broad objective is to prevent early pregnancy and poor reproductive outcomes in adolescents in developing countries. Specific goals include increasing adolescent knowledge of contraception, teaching them how to access and use contraception, broadening their understanding of sex, and lobbying for policies that aid in the risk reduction of teenage pregnancies.

Overview of Teenage Pregnancy Risk Mitigation Strategies

Teenage pregnancy risk reduction strategies can take place at the family, community, and national levels. Parenting techniques are important in the family. Parents who teach their children about sexuality at a young age are said to reduce their children’s chances of becoming pregnant at a young age (Nkurunziza et al., 2020). Furthermore, dysfunctional families, such as separated parents or parents with substance abuse disorders, put their children at risk of having teenage pregnancies, so reducing such risk behaviors is important. At the community level, nurses hold education workshops for adolescent girls, educating them on sex and reproductive health. Nurses who hold positions of leadership also contribute to the development of policies that increase access to contraception for adolescent populations. Nationally, providing funds for contraceptive acquisition, reproductive health education, and subsidized education for teenage girls and teenaged mothers aids in the reduction of teenage pregnancies and poor reproductive outcomes among teenaged mothers.

Conclusion

            In summary, teenage pregnancies continue to be a public health concern in high, middle, and low-income countries. Despite the recorded decrease in adolescent-specific fertility rate over the last 20 decades, childbirths among teenage girls aged 15-19 have not decreased, which can be attributed to an increase in the population of that age group. Teenage pregnancies have consequences for both mothers and their newborns, and in the worst cases, fatalities occur. As a result, governments at the national, state, and county levels have various risk-mitigation strategies for teen pregnancies, such as policies that make contraception more accessible to that age group. To reap the greatest benefits, family, community, and healthcare workers must all contribute at their respective levels. Despite the fight against teen pregnancy, sufficient progress has not been made, a gap that stakeholders must work to close in the future.

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References

American Pregnancy Association. (2021, September 8). Teenage pregnancy. American Pregnancy Association. https://americanpregnancy.org/unplanned-pregnancy/teenage-pregnancy/

BBC News Africa [BBCAfrica]. (2018, August 31). Bridget Achieng: “Baby girl, nothing goes for nothing” – BBC Africa Eye. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RgYBXNCa64

Nkurunziza, A., Van Endert, N., Bagirisano, J., Hitayezu, J. B., Dewaele, S., Tengera, O., & Jans, G. (2020). Breaking barriers in the prevention of adolescent pregnancies for in-school children in Kirehe district (Rwanda): a mixed-method study for the development of a peer education program on sexual and reproductive health. Reproductive Health, 17(1), 137. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-020-00986-9

Trommlerová, S. K. (2020). When children have children: The effects of child marriages and teenage pregnancies on early childhood mortality in Bangladesh. Economics and Human Biology, 39(100904), 100904. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2020.100904

Word Health Organization. (2020). Adolescent pregnancy. Who.Int. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-pregnancy

Video Instructions

 

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Hello,

Instructions for assessment 1 is listed below:

The following questions can help you focus your assessment
Plan and establish YOUR goals and expectations for your hypothetical group. .
1. What is your health concerns? (teen pregnancy, SIDS, etc)
2. What evidence do you have that supports your health concern in this population?
3. Who will be included in your individual or hypothetical population? (teens, parents, LBGQTIA+. etc)?
4. What is your goal? ( Reduce risk of HIV, reduce risk of SIDs, decrease the amount of teens who become pregnant?. etc)
5. Did you develop a sociogram for your individual or population?
6. Are your goals measurable, realistic and attainable? (3 months, 6 months etc)
7. Health people goals are useful and can guide you… use them
8. Where will you educate this hypothetical population? (school, virtual, church, community center, etc?)
9. Are you ready to create education sessions for this group? You will need to for assessment 4.
10. Do you have enough information to complete the 2nd half of this assessment in assessment 4?