Pregnant Teens and Adolescent Mothers, Essay Example

A model discussed in this chapter that is applicable to my practice in obstetrics is the model of individual determinants. This is the most commonly used model and focuses on demographic characteristics that include age, gender, race, ethnicity, income, life challenges, and vulnerability (Bircher, 2014). A study of the interactions between these variables is relevant to my practice because my health care institution sees a diverse population of women. According to medical ethics, health care professionals must strive to ensure that all patients receive equal access to health care. However, this is occasionally not the case for more vulnerable populations. The most vulnerable group that that is encountered in my practice is pregnant teenagers, as they are often given little say over their care if a parent or guardian is present (Lesser, 1999).

Pregnant teenagers are a vulnerable population because they do not have the resources available to protect their own health during their pregnancy and are often not able to make their own decisions regarding their care if a parent or guardian is available to act as their mode of consent. This is a challenging situation because even when these patients are provided with the ability to make their own decisions, these decisions are often heavily influenced by the parent, which would be beneficial or harmful depending on the particular situation. Although this patient population is vulnerable due to their own age, they are also vulnerable due to the life changes they are experience, low level of education, and often lack of income. Furthermore, these individuals are often judged by their care takers, whether or not this judgement is intentional. It is therefore necessary to understand the problems these patients may face in the health care setting and to remove all barriers so that they are able to receive the best possible care.

References

Bircher J. (2014). Defining health by addressing individual, social, and environmental determinants: New opportunities for health care and public health. Journal of Public Health Policy, 35: 363–386.

Lesser J. (1999). Health-related problems in a vulnerable population: pregnant teens and adolescent mothers. Nurs Clin North Am., 34(2):289-99.