There are many preventative health services that government officials are involved in. As nurses in the acute care and soon to be in the public setting awareness and action gives us an opportunity to make change through education. Nurses encounter patients from birth to death and coming across vulnerable populations such as teen moms requires a change. If given the opportunity, our group would focus on early sex education for pre-teens and teenagers focusing on pregnancy. Being a teen mom is no longer taboo in our culture, but that does not mean that it is what is best for our youth and the community at large. It is the lack of sex education that leads to immature decisions, life-long problems and an increase in foster care and child abuse.
The plan we found would be most successful would be “Big Brother and Big Sister Programs”. When working with teens, the best people to reach out to them are those who can they can relate with. The staffing would include college volunteers to mentor teens, and high school volunteers to mentor students in middle school. Seeking out students who need volunteer hours and want to practice training in youth mentoring would lessen the need for funding. Due to the budget cuts on after school program, having college, high school and elementary students volunteer and mentor each other can decrease the rate of teenage pregnancy.
These educative programs need to be implemented in the school system. Each semester, there should be one required sex education assembly to make kids aware of the consequences of unsafe sex and the difficulty of unplanned pregnancy. They would be educated on how girls get pregnant, what happens to the girl’s body during and after pregnancy, and the risks that pregnancy may entail such as STD’s, HIV and AIDS. They would also need to be educated on estimated costs of having a baby and the amount of time required when taking responsibility of having a child. Then, if the youth are interested in learning more information, there will be afterschool programs offered at the school or teen centers locally. The idea is to provide and open and comfortable place that youth can express any concerns and get questions about sex without feeling ashamed and judged. At the same time, the youth learn to make better choices regarding sex, family planning, and the direction they want for their life.
Not every teen is going to be susceptible in volunteering their time to be a mentor. Although, empowering them and making them feel that they are important and can make a difference in the community. Some teenagers just want to feel that they belong and they are heard. They don't want adults telling them what to do and what not to do. Sometimes they are more receptive when its not a family member telling them what is right and wrong. Having a “Big Brother and Big Sister” program not only makes them accountable for their own action but also for the action of others.
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