For information about WAVE: Well-Being of Adolescents in Vulnerable Environments, contact: Beth Marshall at bmarshal@jhsph.edu and (443) 287-3008;or Dr. Freya Sonenstein at fsonenst@jhsph.edu and (443) 287-3009. Kristin Mmari, PhD, has written a monograph drawing on a wide range of studies gathered internationally and is designed to identify and examine the key risk and protective factors affecting adolescent sexual and reproductive health in developing countries. A new fact sheet, Morbidity and Mortality among Adolescents and Young People in the United States, has been written by Dr. William Blum, MD, MPH, PhD, and Farah Qureshi, MHS. Among the findings: Overall, mortality rates have declined among youth in the United States and this downward trend has been observed in both sexes. The leading cause of mortality among youth in the U.S. is unintentional injuries (48%) and other leading causes include homicide and suicide. This publication details the latest global trends in non-communicable diseases (NCD), among them, that NCD-related behaviors such as tobacco and alcohol use, poor eating habits, and lack of exercise are on the rise among young people. A joint effort between the Center for Adolescent Health (CAH), the Urban Health Institute (UHI) and AstraZeneca, the WAVE project is a six-city global study of young people in vulnerable environments with the goal of discovering ways to connect youth to health. The six study sites are the East Baltimore neighborhood of Baltimore, Md.; Johannesburg, South Africa; Shanghai, China; Delhi, India; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Ibadan, Nigeria. The study will use innovative survey techniques to gather data on how and where adolescents tap into health information services. To ensure the study is meaningful to the young people and people who work with young people, the research team will partner with youth and community advisors to collect in-depth information about the state of adolescents in each community, and the availability of health services and resources. This research will be followed by a cell phone-generated survey of 400 teenagers in each site. WAVE will lay the groundwork for interventions incorporating cell phone and social networking technology to improve access to health for the highest-need youth. Connecting Disadvantaged Youth to Health will be conducted in two stages. First, existing data from surveys of youth will be assessed to gain a better understanding of how adolescents from different parts of the world currently access health information and health services. Easily accessible, accurate and current profiles of adolescent health will be created for countries around the world. Reports will also be produced on the risk and protective factors that affect adolescent health. The project includes the convening of a group of global adolescent health leaders to explore emerging issues that will impact adolescent health over the next generation. The second part will be the six-city study, which will provide a picture of the state of adolescent health and access to health services across the globe and will lay the groundwork to understand youth connections to health and its regional and gender-based differences. Activities for the six-city study include: - In-Depth Interviews with youth will ask "What does it mean to be an adolescent in the community?" and other questions about health and well-being.
- Key Informant Interviews with the providers and directors of youth-serving organizations will ask about the issues facing youth in the community.
- Photovoice projects that will document community health issues through youth-led photography sessions.
- Community Mapping & Focus Groups will be conducted by youth to obtain an accurate picture of the community, including the resources available to young people.
- To describe the health status of adolescents in vulnerable environments in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, mental health, substance abuse, and physical activity
- To identify and compare the primary sources of health information and services for youth
- To determine the factors influencing the seeking of health information and services
- To explore how cell phone technology can be used as a source of health information and support to promote adolescent health
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