Curriculum for Pregnant Teens, Research Paper Example

An important health initiative that is currently being conducted in the state of Florida is known as the Healthy Start program, which aims to provide health and support services to vulnerable members of the population. These individuals include adolescents and individuals with a low socioeconomic status. As a consequence, the health of minorities are also a concern. The program aims to provide these individuals with a necessary education so that they can gain a greater understanding of what they need to do to remain healthy (Edwards, 2009). While a part of the program focuses on their pregnancy risk in addition to the support services available to them if they do become pregnant, the program focuses on other prevention programs as well, such as nutritional counseling and smoking cessation.

Directly pertaining to women’s health services, Healthy Start provides information regarding childbirth, breastfeeding, and parenting support and education. This is beneficial because many of the individuals that the program helps are not aware of the support services they have available to them. In addition, many are unsure of how to properly support the health of their new child.

According to the Healthy Start Fact Sheet, this program has been effective. For example, the infant mortality rate has decreased significantly since the start of the program, and the greatest results were seen within the black population (Healthy Start, 2014) . Furthermore, tobacco use among pregnant women has decreased significantly. These results demonstrate that information can result in powerful consequences, so it is important for the program to remain active and reach as many individuals in the area as possible.

References

Florida Health. (2014). Healthy Start Facts. Retrieved from           http://www.floridahealth.gov/%5C/programs-and-services/childrens-health/healthy-start/healthy-start-docs/aHealthy-Start-New-Logo-Jan-2015_Layout%201.pdf

Edwards LA. (2009). Teen Parents, Curriculum for Pregnant Teens. Journal of Nutrition, Education and Behavior, 41(1): 74.