Investing in the Health and Well-Being of Young Adults

Investing in the Health and Well-Being of Young Adults

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2015-01-27

Total Pages: 431

ISBN-13: 0309309980

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Young adulthood - ages approximately 18 to 26 - is a critical period of development with long-lasting implications for a person's economic security, health and well-being. Young adults are key contributors to the nation's workforce and military services and, since many are parents, to the healthy development of the next generation. Although 'millennials' have received attention in the popular media in recent years, young adults are too rarely treated as a distinct population in policy, programs, and research. Instead, they are often grouped with adolescents or, more often, with all adults. Currently, the nation is experiencing economic restructuring, widening inequality, a rapidly rising ratio of older adults, and an increasingly diverse population. The possible transformative effects of these features make focus on young adults especially important. A systematic approach to understanding and responding to the unique circumstances and needs of today's young adults can help to pave the way to a more productive and equitable tomorrow for young adults in particular and our society at large. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults describes what is meant by the term young adulthood, who young adults are, what they are doing, and what they need. This study recommends actions that nonprofit programs and federal, state, and local agencies can take to help young adults make a successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. According to this report, young adults should be considered as a separate group from adolescents and older adults. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults makes the case that increased efforts to improve high school and college graduate rates and education and workforce development systems that are more closely tied to high-demand economic sectors will help this age group achieve greater opportunity and success. The report also discusses the health status of young adults and makes recommendations to develop evidence-based practices for young adults for medical and behavioral health, including preventions. What happens during the young adult years has profound implications for the rest of the life course, and the stability and progress of society at large depends on how any cohort of young adults fares as a whole. Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults will provide a roadmap to improving outcomes for this age group as they transition from adolescence to adulthood.


Communities in Action

Communities in Action

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2017-04-27

Total Pages: 583

ISBN-13: 0309452961

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In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.


Health promotion, inequalities and young people's health

Health promotion, inequalities and young people's health

Author: Sandy Oliver

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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This report describes an attempt to look at how much health promotion and public health research relating to young people has tackled health inequalities, and in what ways it has done this. Health inequalities are recognised as an important problem nationally and internationally. There is policy interest in improving the health of the most disadvantaged, reducing the gap between the most and least disadvantaged, and reducing gradients across the whole population. Health inequalities arise from variations in social, economic and environmental influences along the life course. Health promotion, particularly when it uses social and structural interventions developed by multi-disciplinary teams working with young people, not merely for them, has the potential to reduce health inequalities among young people immediately, and in their later lives. Inequalities research draws on a range of evidence. Observational studies describe the magnitude and severity of health problems and of inequali ...


Inequalities in Young People's Health

Inequalities in Young People's Health

Author: Candace Currie

Publisher: World Health Organization

Published: 2008-07-28

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9289071958

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This international report from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) World Health Organization collaborative cross-national study [...] presents the key findings on patterns of health among young people in 41 countries and regions across Europe and North America. The document presents a status report on health, health-related behaviour and the social contexts of young people's health in 2005/2006 and provides the latest evidence from a unique cross-national study on the well-being of young people in industrialized nations. [...] In addition to presenting key statistics on young people's health, this report has a special focus on health inequalities. It presents data on gender, age and geographic and socioeconomic dimensions of health differentials. The aim of the report is to highlight where inequalities exist in aspects of young people's health and well-being in order to inform and influence policy and practice and to contribute to health improvement for all young people. [Ed.]


Community health and wellbeing

Community health and wellbeing

Author: Cropper, Steve

Publisher: Policy Press

Published: 2007-10-22

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1847422764

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Improving health in populations in which health is poor is a complex process. This book argues that the traditional government approach of exhorting individuals to live healthier lifestyles is not enough - action to promote public health needs to take place not just through public agencies, but also by engaging community assets and resources in their broadest sense. The book reports lessons from the experience of planning, establishing and delivering such action by the five-year Sustainable Health Action Research Programme (SHARP) in Wales. It critically examines the experience of SHARP in relation to current literature on policy; community health and health inequalities; and action research. The authors make clear how this regional development has produced opportunities for developing general concepts and theory about community-based policy developments that are relevant across national boundaries and show that complex and sustained community action, and effective local partnership, are fundamental components of the mix of factors required to address health inequalities successfully. The book concludes by indicating the connections between SHARP and earlier traditions of community-based action, and by arguing that we need to be bolder in our approaches to community-based health improvement and more flexible in our understanding of the ways in which knowledge and inform developments in health policy. The book will be of interest to practitioners and activists working in community-based projects; students in community development, health studies and medical sociology; professionals working in health promotion, community nursing and allied areas; and policy makers working at local, regional and national levels.


Health Disparities in Youth and Families

Health Disparities in Youth and Families

Author: Gustavo Carlo

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2010-10-14

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 1441970924

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Amid its growing diversity and shifting demographics, the U.S. is still home to glaring health inequities by race, ethnicity, and class. Yet while it is customary to identify poverty as their root cause, other complex mechanisms are involved in their perpetuation. Based on recent major studies on African-American, Latino, Asian-American, and Native American populations, Health Disparities in Youth and Families offers a thorough, nuanced examination of a wide range of causal—and protective—factors. Rigorous theories and models take into account cultural, contextual, and personal variables, including the roles of family identity, school, and neighborhood, and motivation toward health awareness (with attention paid to less frequently studied phenomena such as within-group inequalities and the Hispanic Health Paradox). Contributors approach their subjects with realism as well as optimism as the book: povides reliable information on the scope and etiology of health disparities, identifies the methodological and political challenges associated with this issue, proposes comprehensive, integrative models for understanding disparities, features examples of innovative programs for improving minority health, includes an in-depth chapter on substance use and mental health among Native American youth, offers a useful starting point for the exchange of ideas necessary to address health disparities. A provocative resource on a pressing social concern, Health Disparities in Youth and Families is necessary reading for health policy researchers, health care providers, and others dedicated to better health outcomes for all Americans.


Health and Inequality

Health and Inequality

Author: Angela M. Tod

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-04-16

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 1136209352

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How can research on the social determinants of health be translated into real life public health practice? Challenging the research-practice gap, this text shows readers from a range of professions how their practice can help to minimise health inequalities. The social model of health embraces individual lifestyles, social and community networks, socio-economic, political and cultural influences and the plethora of factors that can impact on public health, for instance, education, work, welfare benefits, environment, housing, health and social care. All of these can have a significant effect on people’s experiences of health and well-being, and are often unrecognised sources of health inequalities. This innovative textbook outlines and discusses key public health principles and the social model of health. Drawing on a range of case studies and the international literature, it looks at how public health research has been applied to policy and practice. The book discusses the transferability that these findings have had and their capacity to influence and provide evidence for practice. Health and Inequality covers a broad range of social determinants of health, encountered throughout the life-course, including: Pre-birth and early years Breastfeeding and teenage mothers Health inequalities for mothers and babies in prison Children in full time education Sexuality, relationships and sexual health of young people Early adulthood Welfare rights and health benefits Women, employment and well-being Adults in later life Practical and clearly structured, this text will be useful to a range of health and social care professionals involved in public health work, particularly those undertaking courses on public health, health promotion or the social determinants of health.


Mental Health Promotion

Mental Health Promotion

Author: Mima Cattan

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)

Published: 2006-12-16

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 0335229573

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"This is a well-organised book. The layout is clear, with references at the end of each chapter, and there are activities and questions for reflection, as well as good use of tables. The editors’ foreword at the beginning of each chapter provides a useful link from the previous material, and gives a sense of continuity. "It will…be a useful addition to a reading list for public health students and anyone interested in promoting mental health in their clients. It will provide a useful platform for debate, and a summary of mental health needs at different points in the life span." Critical Public Health "This text provides an excellent overview for anyone new to mental health promotion or wanting to refresh their learning. ...the book provides a concise argument that mental health promotion has a strong theory base, evidence base and value base for anyone wishing to learn, advocate for or develop its practice." mentalhealth today “This book is a useful overview for mental health promotion and will stimulate practitioners and researchers to delve more into this important topic" The Internet Journal of Mental Health Mental Health Promotion is the first textbook to provide an accessible guide to applied mental health promotion across all age groups, and demonstrates how both principles and theory can be used to underpin mental health promotion. Cross cutting themes at each stage of the lifespan are addressed, including: reduction of inequalities; theory and evidence based practice and culturally sensitive approaches to practice. Key features of the book include: A recognition of the ‘uniqueness’ of different age groups in terms of specific mental health issues A lifespan approach; identifying different health promotion interventions for different age groups Illustrations of how to apply health promotion theory and principles to practice Inclusion of up to date evidence based examples of good practice for different age groups Use of international, national and local examples Mental Health Promotion is essential reading for those working in or studying public health, mental health promotion, social work, nursing, youth and community or community care.