Health Promotion Plan - Std Prevention Among Adolescents

Health Promotion Plan-STD Prevention Among Adolescents

Developing a health prevention plan is outlined to ensure each step in the process is addressed extensively and separately. The following outline is adapted from Pender et al., (2011) that involves a nine step process that involves the health planning process with the nurse and the client.

1. Review and summarize data from assessment (physical health status, functional health patterns, physical fitness, nutritional status, life stressors, spirituality, social support, personal health behaviors, family health practices, environmental and community supports or constraints for health behaviors)

* Designed for: 8th and 9th grade females/males (age 13-16 years of age); accepts healthy, normal developing (physically, mentally and emotional) adolescents

* Home address: Northview Middle School, Ankeny Iowa

* Occupation: Active participating full time students at school

* Cultural Identification: Not exclusive

* Health Status/Patterns/Physical Fitness/Development/Adolescent:

The target audience of this health promotion project includes healthy, normal developing adolescents between the ages of 13-16 years of age. There are key components of adolescent development that affect the prevalence of STDs among this age group as well as the need for education prevention. Some key concepts among adolescents are movement toward independence, cognitive changes, sexuality, as well as change and intuition about morals, values, and self direction. Many adolescents find themselves struggling with a sense of identity because they feel awkward, strange about their own body as well as others bodies. They are often moody and often focus on themselves. They often experiences periods having high expectations of themselves and poor self esteem (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2011).

Some of the social changes that is assessed in adolescents is they begin to spend less time with family and more with friends. They often accept and long for freedom and start to detach themselves from the family. This is the start of the process of independence because they often learn more responsibility. Close relationships among peers is very important to adolescents and their behaviors and attitudes are often changed by peers or peer pressure. This is the time when often adolescents experiment in risky behavior such as smoking, substance abuse and sexual activity (ACAP, 2011).

The adolescent development also includes in sexuality. Girls often develop physically before boys. This age also has an increased interest in sex and there is great concern regarding physical and sexual attractiveness to others (ACAP, 2011). There are often frequent changes of relationships, which is also a great risk factor for transmission of STDs. It is also common that teens often break rules and test limits and often think about the here and now and do not focus on future consequences.

Teens also question their beliefs and find new beliefs. They begin to form their own personality, belief system; figure out what defines them and what they value. Adolescents often to try to figure out what they want to be and what they want out of life, which is why this age is so significant in teaching about STD prevention, and establish safe and healthy relationships, as well as abstaining from casual sexual relationships.

* Desired behavioral and health outcomes:

a. To increase awareness of personal vulnerability to sexual transmitted diseases within the selected group

b. To increase STD prevention effectively that is culturally accepted through the group and the community

c. To provide effective education and increase the leadership of STD prevention among parents, schools, communities and adolescents.

d. To ensure access to prevention and services for adolescent that experience or at risk for STDs.

e. To improve collaboration and communication regarding STD prevention among healthcare providers, educators, parents and adolescents.

f. To prevent STDs among adolescents

g. Increase access and screening of STDs among adolescents

h. Increase consistent use of contraception among sexual active adolescents

i. Increase number of students to abstain from sexual activity

* Assessment Data:

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) remain a major public health challenge in the United States among adolescents. Sexually active adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 are at extremely high risk for sexually transmitted disease, including HIV, and teen pregnancy (CDC, 2008). Sexual risk behaviors are placing adolescents at the highest risk for HIV infection, STDs and unintended pregnancy. An estimated 8,300 young people aged 13-14 years in 40 out 50 states that reported to the CDC (2010) had HIV infection in 2009. The higher prevalence of STDs among adolescents also may reflect multiple barriers to accessing quality STD prevention services, including lack of insurances, ability to pay, lack of transportation, and discomfort with families and services that are designed more for adults, and concerns with confidentiality (CDC, 2011). According to statistics young people aged 15-24 years old, represent 25% of the sexual active population.

In addition to the physical and psychological consequences of STDs, these diseases extract a tremendous economic toll (CDC, 2008). Although there has been great progress that has been made in preventing, diagnosing, and treating certain STDS, the CDC estimates that approximately 19 million new infections occur early, and nearly half of them are among young adolescents and adults between the ages of 15 to 24. Direct medical costs associated with STDs in the United States estimates that up to $15.3 billion dollars annually in 2007 were spent on the healthcare costs of STDs (Division of STD Prevention, 2008).

2. Emphasize strengths and competencies of the client/target audience (consensus on areas in which the client is already taking informed and responsible health action as well as on areas for further development of self-care competencies).

* All students at Northview Middle school receive health education every other day for the entire school year. The health education course addresses core units of STDs, STD prevention as well as sexual and reproductive health education.