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Child and Adolescent Public Health Care Policies and Issues

Children and adolescents require special considerations regarding physical and mental health. Public health issues include bullying and harassment, substance abuse including alcohol, and childhood obesity. Families can find support for communicating with their children and teenagers through their school system, community health centers or by joining organizations that provide family support such as the YMCA.

  1. Childhood Obesity

    • Childhood obesity is influenced by parental behaviors and support.

      Nutrition and physical activities are the focus of the Surgeon General's Call to Action on childhood obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed school policies and programs to directly address the dramatic increase in childhood obesity. The goal of these programs is to prevent diabetes and high blood pressure among youth. "The prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%," according to a study in the journal "JAMA" and the National Center for Health Statistics. Families can address overweight and obese youth by mentoring behaviors that reduce sedentary activities and by choosing meals composed of unprocessed, whole foods.

    Substance Abuse

    • Children and adolescents may perceive some drugs as less harmful.

      Public health policies include prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery for children and adolescents. Children and adolescents are considered vulnerable populations with regard to substance abuse because of their underdeveloped brain chemistry. Issues for public health policy involving substance abuse and youth arise when applying services to children. Public health policy directly addresses cultural and linguistic competence regarding the child's family and environment. Best practices for supporting a child's mental health can be found at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health (SAMSHA) website. Treatment for children and adolescents with substance abuse problems requires professional consultation and a continuum of care. These services provide family-driven and youth-guided alternatives to drug use.

    Harassment

    • Bullying is defined as physical threats or emotional abuse.

      Public health policy with regard to bullying and harassment has legal consequences for school officials. Youth bullying may make parents and educators liable for victims seeking to remedy the harassment legally. Public health issues of harassment require communities to shift responsibility from an individual insult to the broader perspective of how that insult effects the whole community. Harassment or "bullying"' has severe, long-term consequences. The definition of bullying is a form of peer abuse, where children exhibit cruelty to one another. "Even low-level bullying...has the potential to escalate into mental health, substance abuse, or other problems."

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