Impact of Poverty on Youth and Adolescent Health Assignment Sample

• Subject Name : Nursing

Dietary Behaviors and Poor Sleep Quality Among Young Adult Women

Introduction to Impact of Poverty on Youth and Adolescent Health

Youth is the period for the key change in life. It is the time when decisions are taken about education, finances, career paths, relationships, and employment (Davison, Nagel and Singh, 2017). The economic, social, and technological factors are there that impact the lives of youth in making changes to young generations. Young experience many obstacles while making their transition to adulthood (Davison, Nagel and Singh, 2017). In this essay, the relationship of poverty with factors that are leading to health implications like stress, disability, suicide, asthma, the alcohol-use disorder has been described. The recommendations are mentioned at the end like community development programs, education, housing, and infrastructure (Alhassan and Dodoo, 2020).

Overview of Impact of Poverty on Youth and Adolescent Health

The youth is the population that is covered in the range of 14-24 years. These are most affected by poverty due to inter-generational trauma, racism, socio-economic disadvantage, and prejudice as relevant for young people in experiencing today. Based on the report, the prevalence rate of poverty in Australia in young people is about 62 percent (Robards, Kang, and Usherwood et al 2018). About 1 in every 20 young people are suffering from poverty and the reason behind this is the health and well-being outcomes, health risk factors, social and economic determinants, and health and welfare services. Youngsters also face that there are no such services for them that term as good health and just the absence of disease (Jamieson, Smithers and Hedges et al. 2018). They experience all levels of emotional, social, physical, and ecological well-being of for community as well as individuals.

Factors Affecting the Health of Youth and Adolescent Health

There are lot many factors that contribute to health inequities in health for youth. According to the Dahlgren-Whitehead model, there is a connection between social inequities, economic status, and environmental factors that determines the risk of getting ill, access to effective treatment, and the ability to prevent sickness (Moeller-Saxone, McCutcheon and Halperin 2016).

The social and economic determinants have a strong link between the prevalence of poverty in youth aged 14-24 years. Some people experience socio-economic disadvantage on all the major indicators. In the National Survey 2001, it was found that the average gross household income for population was $364 per week (Pearce, Jongbloed and Richardson 2015). The research studies described that these associations have an association between economic and social support also with health. Poverty is a major contributor to health as literacy and poor education affect people in assessing health information. Poor income is linked with reducing accessibility to medicines and healthcare services. Run-down housing and overcrowded have an association with poverty and the spread of communicable diseases. Poor diet to infants later results in developing chronic conditions. The socio-economic status has an association with high-risk behavior, alcohol abuse, and smoking (Young, Sidell, and Grandner et al. 2020).

The research also stated that poor people like people have fewer financial resources and other forms to control their lives. They contribute to the greater burden of unhealthy stress and prolonged exposure to psychological demands for the possibilities to control the situation.

The environment has a greater impact on poverty amongst youth aged 14-24 years as it has a direct link to dignity, self-esteem, physical environment, and justice. The thing that only matters is not only the provision of healthcare services, doctors, medicines, and hospitals or the absence of incapacity and disease. They are affected at all levels from social determinants of health. They perceive a lack of control in contributing to an increase in the burden of mental issues, substance abuse, and violence (Alhassan and Dodoo, 2020). They are at high risk of developing serious diseases notably substance abuse. It has been noted that one-half of the Australian youth does smoking daily. Moreover, one in every six individuals consumes alcohol or other substances that are high-risk contributors to poor health. There were high rates of mentally ill adolescents which indicated that this group of the population lead to chronic stress. From the reports, it was observed that young people were likely to suffer more from mental and behavioral disorders (Moeller-Saxone, McCutcheon and Halperin 2016). This has increased hospitalization rates for self-intention harm or assault and thus is indicative of mental distress and illness. Negative features of the social environment trigger chronic stress by intergenerational poverty and racism. This has also impacted the immune system, metabolic functioning, circulatory system, and hormonal pathways of individuals. Currently, these are the biggest killer of youth in Australia. The traditional cultures and ways are there to be considered for emotional, social, and environmental safety (Moeller-Saxone, McCutcheon, and Halperin 2016).

Health Impacts

Burden of Disease

The health of youth is affected in terms of physical and psychological health. The burden of disease provides the measure of impact for different injuries and diseases in the population. This is looked at by the number of people who are dying due to diseases or getting affected by life-threatening diseases for the rest of their life. The contribution for youngsters aged 14-24 deaths is contributed to disease burden were road traffic accidents (6%), alcohol use disorders (7%), anxiety disorders (8%), and self-infected injuries (13%). The leading contributor for children aged 10-14 years is asthma (10%) anxiety disorders (9%) and conduct disorder (10%). Youth aged 15-19 years is affected by road traffic injuries-motor vehicle occupants (8%), suicide and self-infected injuries (15%), and alcohol use disorders (9%). Youth aged 20-24 is affected by anxiety disorders (8%), suicide and self-infected injuries (13%), and alcohol use disorders (9%). The statistics provided in the reports have provided with the clue that these are the major causes of ill-health for youth aged 14-24 years (Moeller-Saxone, McCutcheon and Halperin 2016).

Disability

Disability is another contributor that involves disorders, limitations, impairment, disease, or restriction that limits the person from getting involved in daily activities of life as normal people. In the year 2014-15, the data presented that Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders are majorly affected by disability conditions in young population (Moeller-Saxone, McCutcheon, and Halperin 2016). Almost 1 in 3 young people aged 14-24 reported disability condition that prevents them from getting involved in day-to-day activities (Alhassan and Dodoo, 2020). Out of this proportion of youth living with a disability is 15% had a severe or profound activity limitation, 25% had employment or schooling restriction, 17% had a mild or moderate core activity limitation, and 43% were not having any limitation or restriction. Amongst male and female contributors in disability, females have a higher proportion of 37% females than 28% of males affected by disability. Disability has impacted youth living in a variety of ways like getting involved in routine activities, schooling, sports, education, and employment. These all the factors are interlinked to each other and affect the person's life personally, physiologically, socially, and environmentally (Alhassan and Dodoo, 2020).

Long-Term Health Conditions

The health of youth has also been impacted by long-term health conditions to youth aged 14-24 years. The data of 2012-13 survey provides the figures that 4 in 10 people that are 38% of people have been affected by long-term or current prevalent health conditions. 62% that is 6 in every 10 people were affected by long-term health condition and this impacted their life. Long-term health condition is defined as the situation in which the person suffers from the condition that is expected or lasts for 6 months or more. The prevalent health conditions were 36% respiratory diseases, 10% mental health conditions, 20% due to eye and vision problems, and 11% youth aged 14-24 were having signs and symptoms that include fatigue, allergies, and long-term injuries (Russell, Vasilenko and Lanza 2016).

Deaths

 However, health has been affected by long-term health conditions, disability, the burden of disease, and mortality rate. The mortality rate is the factor that is noted to evaluate the functioning of health systems in the country. Youth aged 14-24 years have been impacted their health and led to many deaths in the community. The mortality rate of the population aged 14-24 years has been noted in the reports fallen from before. There were 70 per thousand deaths in the year 2005 and after ten years, it decreased to 67 per thousand deaths in 2015. Poisoning and injury have accounted for a major contribution to deaths, also assaults, land road accidents, and suicide rates were 5 per thousand, 12 per thousand, and 29 per thousand respectively (Finnegan, Rainchuso, and Jenkins et al 2016).

Recommendations on Impact of Poverty on Youth and Adolescent Health

Recommendations for improvement in the system and decrease in poverty amongst 14-24 years of age group are education, employment, housing, and infrastructure so that people can have improved health conditions. Education is an important factor that helps in the reduction of poverty and directly leading to income after getting employed or starting their own business (MacDonald, Willox, and Ford 2015). This empowers people and makes them understand the role of health and well-being in their life.

Employment is the second most contributor to reducing poverty as employment will lead to GDP growth and ultimately it will increase the income of the country. This helps individuals to lead a good life with access to basic amenities in life (DeJonckheere, Fisher and Chang 2018).

The third recommendation is the housing and infrastructure, this also includes water and sanitation facilities. These are very important because they prevent the individual from mild as well as chronic health conditions (Gausia, Thompson and Nagel et al. 2015).

Conclusion on Impact of Poverty on Youth and Adolescent Health

Thus, poverty reduction can be there if the government of Australia takes important steps to empower their youth without any form of discrimination. The youth aged 14-24 years have been discussed with a variety of issues that they face and get their health affected and impacted. Social, environmental, and psychological factors all contribute to individual health.

References for Impact of Poverty on Youth and Adolescent Health

Alhassan, N., and Dodoo, F.N.A., 2020. Predictors of primary and secondary sexual abstinence among never-married youth in urban poor Accra, Ghana. Reproductive Health, 17(1), pp.1-13. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12978-020-0885-4

DeJonckheere, M., Fisher, A., and Chang, T., 2018. How has the presidential election affected young Americans?. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 12(1), p.8. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13034-018-0214-7

Finnegan, D.A., Rainchuso, L., Jenkins, S., Kierce, E., and Rothman, A., 2016. Immigrant caregivers of young children: Oral health beliefs, attitudes, and early childhood caries knowledge. Journal of Community Health, 41(2), pp.250-257. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10900-015-0090-5.pdf

Jamieson, L., Smithers, L., Hedges, J., Parker, E., Mills, H., Kapellas, K., Lawrence, H.P., Broughton, J.R. and Ju, X., 2018. Dental disease outcomes following a 2-year oral health promotion program for Australian Aboriginal children and their families: a 2-arm parallel, single-blind, randomized controlled trial. EClinicalMedicine, 1, pp.43-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2018.05.001

MacDonald, J.P., Willox, A.C., Ford, J.D., Shiwak, I., Wood, M., Government, R.I.C., and IMHACC Team, 2015. Protective factors for mental health and well-being in a changing climate: Perspectives from Inuit youth in Nunatsiavut, Labrador. Social Science & Medicine, 141, pp.133-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.07.017

Moeller-Saxone, K., McCutcheon, L., Halperin, S., Herrman, H. and Chanen, A.M., 2016. Meeting the primary care needs of young people in residential care. Australian family physician, 45(10), p.706. https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=376906186836466;res=IELIAC

Robards, F., Kang, M., Usherwood, T., and Sanci, L., 2018. How marginalized young people access, engage with, and navigate health-care systems in the digital age: a systematic review. Journal of Adolescent Health, 62(4), pp.365-381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.10.018

Russell, M.A., Vasilenko, S.A., and Lanza, S.T., 2016. Age-varying links between violence exposure and behavioral, mental, and physical health. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59(2), pp.189-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.03.038

Young, D.R., Sidell, M.A., Grandner, M.A., Koebnick, C., and Troxel, W., 2020. Dietary behaviors and poor sleep quality among young adult women: watch that sugary caffeine!. Sleep Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2019.12.006

Remember, at the center of any academic work, lies clarity and evidence. Should you need further assistance, do look up to our Nursing Assignment Help