Youth: Choices and Change. Promoting Healthy Behaviors in Adolescents.YOUTH: CHOICES AND CHANGE. Promoting Healthy Behaviors in Adolescents. Breinbauer, C., & Maddaleno, M. Washington, DC: Pan American Health Organization The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency with 100 years of experience in working to improve health and living standards of the countries of the Americas. It serves as the specialized organization for health of the Inter-American System. , 2005. 390 pp. This report was published by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO PAHO Pan American Health Organization (WHO) ) in collaboration with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) is a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its task is to ensure effective foreign aid, with quality assurance and evaluation. NORAD both finances NGOs, and does its own research and projects. . Although the report cites research from around the globe, the focus of the findings is devoted to adolescents in Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. and the Caribbean. The goal of the publication is to help adolescents make choices that develop healthy behaviors that promote a lifestyle that, in turn, will help them become economically sufficient during adulthood. The publication is divided into four sections and includes an extensive list of references. Section one discusses the importance of focusing on the lifestyles of adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean, the lack of knowledge about health among those youth, selected theories about adolescent programs, and the difficulties of developing intervention models. Section two presents numerous theories and models directed at changing health behaviors at the individual, interpersonal in·ter·per·son·al adj. 1. Of or relating to the interactions between individuals: interpersonal skills. 2. , community, and policy levels. Gender differences are examined in relationship to alcohol, tobacco, and drug use; physical and sexual activity; nutrition; and violence. Section three classifies adolescent developmental stages by ages: pre-adolescence (9-12 for girls and 10-13 for boys); early adolescence adolescence, time of life from onset of puberty to full adulthood. The exact period of adolescence, which varies from person to person, falls approximately between the ages 12 and 20 and encompasses both physiological and psychological changes. (12-14 for girls and 13-15 for boys); middle adolescence (14-16 for girls and 15-17 for boys); late adolescence (16-18 for girls and 17-18 for boys); youth (18-21); and young adulthood (21-24). The effects of intervention during the different stages are discussed. The last section is devoted to the study's conclusions and recommendations, with a focus on implementing, over the next decade, the organization's model, "Youth: Choices and Change." PAHO hopes to collaborate with the United Nations to address this region's socioeconomic so·ci·o·ec·o·nom·ic adj. Of or involving both social and economic factors. socioeconomic Adjective of or involving economic and social factors Adj. 1. challenges. |
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