The Promise of Adolescence, a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and identifies how these findings can be applied to four key sectors: health, education, justice, and child welfare.
Adolescence—the developmental period that spans ages 10 through 25—is a period of growth and learning that provides opportunities for lifelong impact. Access to appropriate health care services is important for adolescents, both to ensure their well-being today, as they experience the bumps and stresses of adolescent life, and to ensure their well-being for a lifetime by addressing behaviors that impact their long-term health, such as diet, exercise, and substance use. Yet many adolescents – particularly ethnic and racial minority adolescents – face a variety of barriers to accessing health care, such as financial barriers, privacy concerns, and long wait times. In addition, many of the health issues adolescents confront are rooted in the social determinants of health (e.g., income, physical environment, housing, etc.) and driven by underlying social and economic inequalities.
This webinar will explore the opportunities for creating an adolescent-friendly health care system. Two members of the expert committee that authored The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth, Claire Brindis (University of California, San Francisco) and Stephen Russell (University of Texas at Austin), will discuss recent advances in our understanding of adolescence and opportunities for applying them to support the health of all young people. Practitioners, advocates, researchers, parents, and adolescents are encouraged to register. Contact Dara Shefska with questions.
Learn more about The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth Webinar Series and register for the related webinars.
