Skip to Content
Tennessee’s Adolescent and Young Adult Health Program

About the Program


Tennessee’s Adolescent and Young Adult Health Program

VISION for TENNESSEE’S YOUTH and YOUNG ADULTS

  • All youth and young adults are raised in positive environments, with caring adults who nurture and promote their health and development.
  • All youth and young adults feel safe and supported and are positively engaged in the lives of their families, peers and communities.
  • All youth and young adults have timely access to appropriate, high quality health, education, social and other community services as needed to support their optimal healthy development and assure their well-being.
  • All youth and young adults thrive during their adolescence and early adult life.

GOALS

  • Implement strategies that enhance the overall health of youth, adolescents and young
  • adults, ages 10 to 24.
  • Promote services and policies that are formed from a holistic youth development approach.
  • Address health disparity issues among adolescents and young adults.
  • Create partnerships with local, state, federal, foundation, academic and statewide
  • organizations across a broad range of adolescent health issues.
  • Track and assess the 21 Critical Objectives for Adolescent Health, Healthy People 2010.

Adolescent and Young Adult Health program staff serve as a resource to Tennessee communities in addressing and assessing strengths and risks related to adolescent health status through:

  • Consultation and training
  • Assessing teen health status
  • Publishing adolescent health data
  • Promoting youth involvement in decisions and planning programs to address their needs
  • Fostering collaborations among individuals, programs and systems that serve youth
  • Advocating for the needs of Tennessee’s youth and young adults
  • Addressing health disparities among adolescents and young adults
  • Increasing public awareness about the needs and strengths of Tennessee’s youth and young adults

Adolescent and Young Adult Health Program promotes positive youth development, addresses health disparities and prevents negative health outcomes by:

  • Promoting good mental health;
  • Reducing aggression and violence;
  • Preventing alcohol, tobacco and other substance use;
  • Avoiding early initiation of sexual activity, pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases,
  • including HIV/AIDS;
  • Preventing unintentional injuries;
  • Promoting healthy nutrition practices and physical fitness; and
  • Increasing health insurance coverage and adequate access to health care services

Key audiences that impact teen health include:

  • Local government
  • Non-profit organizations
  • Health care providers
  • Educators and school health staff
  • Parents and teens themselves
  • Faith Community
  • Policy makers, including legislators
  • Business representatives
  • Academic representatives

Primary activities include:

  • Data collection and distribution through an adolescent health report, adolescent health survey
  • fact sheets, newsletters and youth focus groups.
  • Adolescent health training provided both at the state and regional level through regional
  • adolescent health representatives
  • Asset building and Coordinated School Health projects pilot program
  • Suicide intervention training in partnership with the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network
  • Violence Prevention media campaign and community forums project
  • Tennessee Healthy Youth Guides distribution
  • Healthy Weight Management for Youth Initiative through the Tennessee Healthy Weight Network

For more information, contact: Adolescent Health Director, 615-741-7353.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The National Initiative for Adolescent Health web site provides numerous materials that promote adolescent health. Especially, helpful is the new guide, Improving the Health of Adolescents and Young Adults: A Guide for States and Communities (2004). This is the official companion document to the Healthy People 2010 21 Critical Health Objectives. It offers guidance and resources for national, state and local adolescent health leaders to undertake the initiatives related to the 21 Critical Health Objectives. Additionally, Chapter 8 offers a comprehensive list of federal resources. This information can be accessed at http://nahic.ucsf.edu/.

Educational Presentations

PowerPoint: Strategies for Increasing Protective Factors Among Youth

Tennessee Adolescent and Young Adult Health Fact Sheets

Web Sites

National

Konopka Institute for Best Practices in Adolescent Health
University of Minnesota
http://www.allaboutkids.umn.edu/konopka/

National Adolescent Health Information Center
University of California, San Francisco
http://nahic.ucsf.edu/

Search Institute
http://www.search-institute.org

State

Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network
http://www.tspn.org

Parents

American Medical Association – Parent packets
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/7312.html

Center for Health and Health Care in Schools – Parents Resource Center
http://www.healthinschools.org/parents/index.htm

Youth and Young Adults

4GirlsHealth
http://www.4girls.gov/index.htm

Center for Health and Health Care in Schools – teen site
http://www.healthinschools.org/students/

 

Reports and Fact Sheets


2008 Adolescent and Young Adult Health in Tennessee Report and Fact Sheets



Reports


Fact Sheets

Adolescent Health Toolkit


Adolescent Health Toolkit

The toolkit contains valuable information aimed at promoting
the optimal health and well-being of adolescents.

For Adolescents

Group of Teens
  • Do I Really Need a Checkup Every Year?
  • Will I Need to Get Shots?
  • What about Confidentiality?
  • Where Do I Find More Information?
  • Are You in Danger? Do You Need Help Now?
  • Videos and More

 


For Health Providers

Health Providers
  • Preventive/Well-Adolescent Visits
  • Screening and Intervention Tools
  • Anticipatory Guidance
  • Handouts and Educational Resources
  • Confidentiality
  • Coding Resources
  • Referral Resources
  • Provider Tools

For Parents

Parent with Teens
  • Does My Teen Really Need a Checkup Every Year?
  • What Happens at the Yearly Checkup?
  • Will Your Teen Need to Get Shots?
  • What About Confidentiality?
  • How Do You Find a Provider?
  • Need More Information on How to Parent Adolescents?
  • Where Do You Find More Information?
  • Is Your Teen in Danger? Do You Need Help Now?
  • Want Some Help Organizing Your Child's Health Care?

For Schools and Communities

Teens outside of a school
  • Do Teens Really Need a Checkup Every Year?
  • What Happens at the Yearly Checkup?
  • Will The Teen Need to Get Shots?
  • What about Confidentiality?
  • How Can You Help Teens and Their Families Find a Provider?
  • How Do I Help Teens and Parents Find More Information?
  • Is Your Teen in Danger? Do You Need Help Now?
  • Important Forms and Other Information