Canadian Adolescent Health: Promotion, Prevention, and Strategies

This report examines the health and well-being of adolescents in Canada, focusing on health promotion and disease prevention strategies. It highlights the importance of factors like supportive families and social connections in fostering healthy development. The report addresses key areas such as dietary patterns, nutrient requirements, and the impact of stress and mental health on Canadian youth. It delves into the epidemiology and statistics of common diseases and injuries among adolescents, including head injuries, heart disease risks, inflammatory bowel disease, and substance abuse. Furthermore, it explores the three levels of prevention—primary, secondary, and tertiary—and their roles in promoting good health and preventing injuries among Canadian youth. The report emphasizes the need for youth education and understanding, along with the implementation of effective strategies and resources to support adolescent health in Canada. Desklib provides access to this and similar documents for students' reference.

Healthy living of adolescents is of great importance to people of Canada. There is need for many
factors like supportive family, thriving social relations and most importantly, feelings of safety
that prevent them from diseases, injury and help them to socialize feeling safe in the world. For
this, health promotion and disease prevention is important for the adolescents.
Health Promotion
Dietary patterns
 Health Canada Surveillance Tool Tier system, 2014 suggests that every 3 in 10
adolescents have increased energy intakes than required. There is increased consumption
of saturated fats that need to be reduced among adolescents with inadequate vitamins and
minerals consumption like calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A and phosphorus.
 There is a great concern that adolescents in Canada are not meeting their daily nutrient
requirements and inadequate sodium intake associated with adverse health effects. Health
promotion is required in this area to promote healthy behaviour among them to prevent
obesity (infobase.phac-aspc.gc.ca, 2017).
Nutrient requirements
 Obesity is the main concern in Canada due to household food insecurity making
adolescents obese and prone to obesity related risks.
 According to a study conducted by Jessri, Nishi & L’Abbe, (2016) dietary patterns
among adolescents in Canada demonstrated a high prevalence of consumed food rich in
potatoes and processed meats. There is unhealthy food behaviour among the adolescents
that has severe implications on their health like obesity.

 Adolescents have low quality dietary intake with less macronutrients consumption having
suboptimal meal behaviour. Heath promotion is required to inculcate healthy food
behaviour among this age group
Stress
 Herman, Hopman & Sabiston, (2015) there is stress prevailing among Canadian youth
where around 20% youth experience 20% of moderate level of stress due to peer
pressure, disruption from family and violence.
 They also experience suicidal thoughts and lack of social connectedness with family and
seeking professional help for mental health problems.
Mental health
 Due to persisting feelings of hopelessness and stress, there is an increase in risk for
mental health problems among Canadian youth (Gariépy & Elgar, 2016).
 Substance abuse like alcohol drinking is reported among the adolescents aged 15 to 17
years that affect their mental health and highly engaged in unhealthy behaviour.
 They need to be educated about importance of mental health as physical health and
encourage them to seek mental health professionals’ help when they experience suicidal
thoughts or unable to cope up with their mental health issues.
Youth education and understanding
 Canadian youth education is important in areas of unhealthy behaviour and lifestyle,
education about mental health awareness and health safety.

 Promotion of health among young people is required that gives a foundation for the
promotion of their health and addressing of health inequities among them.
 The actions and crosscutting strategies need to be used by school leaders ad
community for strengthening protective factors, reduction of risk factors and
facilitation of access to determinants of mental health.
 This strengthening of protective factors provide greater access to the determinants
and creation of positive mental health conditions and reduction of risk-tasking
behaviour among Canadian youth.
 These five factors can be helpful in maximizing efforts through youth engagement
and encourage social inclusion.
Further education is required for the youth in the areas of mental health, healthy lifestyle
modifications and habits of living.

Guiding principles Process Outcomes Impact
Diversity-aware and
strength based health
promotion
interventions.
Anti-oppressive and
youth friendly
programs so that there
is increased youth
participation and
gender informed.
Application of
youth
promotion
strategies and
actions for the
achievement of
personal
empowerment
and social
change.
Strengthening of
protective factors,
reduction of risk
factors and greater
access to mental
health services and
social determinants
of health
Enhancement of
mental health
and reduction of
harms or
problems related
to substance
misuse among
youth.
Strategies and resources
Youth education and promotion model
Epidemiology and Statistics: Common diseases and injuries
Head injury
 In the year 2011- 2012, around 754 sports-related head injuries resulted in
hospitalizations among 5 to 19 years.

 An estimated 15,970 patients were admitted to emergency departments in Canada
due to concussions and head injuries (infobase.phac-aspc.gc.ca, 2017).
 Around 60% youth were admitted to emergency departments due to recreation
and sports-related injuries (Yanchar, Warda & Fuselli, (2012).
 About 40% increase in sports-related injuries was from soccer, football and
hockey in the year 2014.
 Boys are more prone to head injuries as compared to girls
Risk for heart disease
 Canadians of the age 12-30 years suffer from high risk for heart disease that includes
high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.
 According to the study by Canadian Medical Association Journal, there is younger heart-
attacks and stroke due to poor diet and sedentary lifestyle among Canadian youth haunt
them in the form of chronic health problems.
 There is high consumption of excessive sodium levels and packaged foods with low level
of physical exercise is posing risk for heart disease threat to the young Canadians and
vulnerable to high blood pressure due to diseases (Pelletier et al., 2012).
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
 The typical age for IBD is 20 years among youth Canadians like ulcerative colitis and
Crohn’s disease.
 During the year 2010-2013, the statistics has jumped to 7.2 percent with a
combination of factors including environment, genetics and a result of diets that they
have causing depletion of good bacteria in the digestive tract.

Substance abuse
 Among the youth Canadians, 8.8% were current smokers, 25.5% current binge
drinkers, 18.8% current marijuana users and overweight youths around 22.5%.
 Around 31.2% did not perform any physical activity, 89.4% sedentary lifestyle and
93.6% did not intake vegetable and fruits (Leatherdale & Rynard, 2013).
 The risk factors are high with 2.9% of youth are prone to risk factors for heart disease
and high blood pressure.
Brain injuries and concussions among Canadian youth
 Youth people in Canada suffer from head injuries as a major public health issue as
they have long and short health consequences. Repetitive head injuries can cause
long-term injuries resulting in brain damage. This occurs during sports and
recreational activities that are otherwise preventable.
Levels of Prevention
Three levels of prevention plays an important role in the promotion of good health and
injury prevention among the youths in Canada that have array of activities to reduce the
onset or seriousness and the disease complications.
Prevention occurs at three levels:
Primary prevention

This level of prevention deals with the promotion of health and protection against the risk
exposure leading to health problems. There is a need to change the environment by
providing family support to protect them from risk factors. There is also need for
community empowerment to create awareness among the adolescents and their families
regarding the change in lifestyle and personal behaviour. Nutrition education that
contains maintenance of healthy food by in taking fruits and vegetables and exercise
behaviours is fruitful for the youth in reducing the risk for obesity and heart diseases
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015).
Secondary prevention
This level of prevention focuses on the stopping or slowing down the progression of
disease or injury risk. The activities need to focus and target the issues of health, lifestyle
or environmental factors. This includes the activity programs for the physical exercise
and nutrition that target obese youths and individuals prone to heart diseases.
Tertiary level of prevention
This level comprises of the rehabilitation and management of persons who are diagnosed
with substance abuse or health conditions. This level is concerned with reduction of
complications and improving their quality of life through counselling and providing them
special healthcare needs like mental health services. Health clinics that provide tertiary
level of prevention are helpful in extending the youth’s years of productivity.

References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). USA. Classification of Diseases,
Functioning, and Disability.[Электронный ресурс]: http://www. cdc.
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Gariépy, G., & Elgar, F. J. (2016). Trends in Psychological Symptoms among Canadian
Adolescents from 2002 to 2014: Gender and Socioeconomic Differences.
The Canadian
Journal of Psychiatry, 61(12), 797-802.
Herman, K. M., Hopman, W. M., & Sabiston, C. M. (2015). Physical activity, screen time and
self-rated health and mental health in Canadian adolescents.
Preventive medicine, 73,
112-116.
infobase.phac-aspc.gc.ca. (2017). Retrieved 27 November 2017, from https://infobase.phac-
aspc.gc.ca/datalab/head-injuries-blog-en.html
infobase.phac-aspc.gc.ca. (2017). Retrieved 27 November 2017, from https://infobase.phac-
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Jessri, M., Nishi, S. K., & L’Abbe, M. R. (2016). Assessing the nutritional quality of diets of
Canadian children and adolescents using the 2014 Health Canada Surveillance Tool Tier
System.
BMC public health, 16(1), 381.
Leatherdale, S. T., & Rynard, V. (2013). A cross-sectional examination of modifiable risk factors
for chronic disease among a nationally representative sample of youth: are Canadian
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BMC Public Health,
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Pelletier, C., Dai, S., Roberts, K. C., & Bienek, A. (2012). Report summary Diabetes in Canada:
facts and figures from a public health perspective.
Chronic diseases and injuries in
Canada,
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Yanchar, N. L., Warda, L. J., & Fuselli, P. (2012). Child and youth injury prevention: A public
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Paediatrics & child health, 17(9), 511-511.

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