Teenage Pregnancy
Teenage Pregnancy, Why is this Important
Kimberly O. Johnson
American Sentinel University
Nursing 505: Theoretical Foundations
Dr. Ami Bhatt
December 30,2012 Teenage Pregnancy: Why is this Important
Teen pregnancy is a critical public health issue that affects the health and educational, social and economic future of the mother and child. Teen pregnancy is also a significant factor in numerous other important social issues: welfare dependency, out-of-wedlock births, responsible fatherhood and workforce development are all of particular concern (Measuring, 2012).
Adolescents are less likely to seek out prenatal care because they are afraid, embarrassed, or unaware of the resources available to them. This lack of prenatal care, coupled with the mother’s usually immature physical development, result in higher rates of low-birth weight babies than in other age groups. As the offspring of adolescent mothers grow, they are more apt than other children to have health and cognitive problems and to be the victims of neglect or abuse (Measuring, 2012).
Identifying the priority health problem/issue and analyzing that problem/issue is often the catalyst that enables services to have a reorientation into care delivery from being institutionally focused to addressing the population’s need. Identifying a number of worthy needs can make determining the health priority the most difficult task of this process, particularly as limited resources necessitate prioritization. Despite various criteria having been put forward to assist prioritizing health problems, there is still a need for decision makers to subjectively determine where to direct healthcare resources. The PRECEDE-PROCEED Model endeavors to address this limitation (Phillips, Rolley & Davidson, 2012).
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the applicability of the PRECEDE-PROCEED Model to the development of specific care interventions for one particular population: teen parents
Kimberly O. Johnson
American Sentinel University
Nursing 505: Theoretical Foundations
Dr. Ami Bhatt
December 30,2012 Teenage Pregnancy: Why is this Important
Teen pregnancy is a critical public health issue that affects the health and educational, social and economic future of the mother and child. Teen pregnancy is also a significant factor in numerous other important social issues: welfare dependency, out-of-wedlock births, responsible fatherhood and workforce development are all of particular concern (Measuring, 2012).
Adolescents are less likely to seek out prenatal care because they are afraid, embarrassed, or unaware of the resources available to them. This lack of prenatal care, coupled with the mother’s usually immature physical development, result in higher rates of low-birth weight babies than in other age groups. As the offspring of adolescent mothers grow, they are more apt than other children to have health and cognitive problems and to be the victims of neglect or abuse (Measuring, 2012).
Identifying the priority health problem/issue and analyzing that problem/issue is often the catalyst that enables services to have a reorientation into care delivery from being institutionally focused to addressing the population’s need. Identifying a number of worthy needs can make determining the health priority the most difficult task of this process, particularly as limited resources necessitate prioritization. Despite various criteria having been put forward to assist prioritizing health problems, there is still a need for decision makers to subjectively determine where to direct healthcare resources. The PRECEDE-PROCEED Model endeavors to address this limitation (Phillips, Rolley & Davidson, 2012).
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the applicability of the PRECEDE-PROCEED Model to the development of specific care interventions for one particular population: teen parents
References: Measuring Teen Pregnancy in Virginia – Virginia Performs. Retrieved from http://vaperforms.virginia.gov/indicators/healthfamily/teenpregnancy.php (page last modified December 10, 2012). Phillips, J.L., Rolley, J.X., & Davidson, P.M. (2012). Developing Targeted Health Service Interventions Using the PRECEDE-PROCEED Model: Two Australian Case Studies. Nursing Research and Practice, 2012, 8 pages. Retrieved from http://www.hindawi.com/journals/nrp/2012/279431 Sharma, M., & Romas, J.A. (2012). Theoretical Foundations of Health Education and Health Promotion (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.