Northwest Public Health Spring/Summer 2007
Volume 24, Number 1
Our Youth. Their Lives: Public Health and Adolescents
Viewpoint. Youth: The New “Degenerate Race”?
Michael Males
This guest editorial makes the case that scapegoating of teenagers not only foments unwarranted fear of young people but fails abysmally to improve health and safety.
Valuing Youth Matters: Oregon’s Action Research Project
Sarah K. Ramowski and Robert J. Nystrom
The authors describe a new project in Oregon that involves teens in peer research and builds positive youth development.
First Build Trust: Helping Homeless Youth
Maggie Jones
Because of the individual health risks of life on the street and of the long-term societal costs, early intervention is crucial for both homeless youth and society. A Seattle-based program emphasizes the need to build trust before street youth can be helped.
The Lives and Health of Pakistani Street Children
Sadia Atta Mehmood
In contrast to US homeless youth, Pakistani youth are on the streets primarily for economic reasons, but their health and sexual vulnerabilities are similar to homeless youth in the US. Resources related to this article.
Strong Heart, Body, and Spirit: Building Resilience and Facilitating Recovery in Native Youth
Cheri Hample and Anita Didrickson
Alaska Native youth show disproportionately high rates of substance abuse and behavioral problems. Focusing on developing assets and resilience, the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) prevention and treatment programs offer innovative approaches based on best practices and Native values. Resources related to this article.
Cutting Through the Myths of Deliberate Self-Harm
Robin DeCastro
Adolescents who deliberately self harm can be helped, but often the negative attitude of helping adults compounds rather than alleviates the pain these youth feel. Resources related to this article.
Public Health’s Interest in Schools: Coordinating School Health
Lori Stern
Coordinated school health programs are one way to create a system to address youth health concerns such as nutrition, physical activity, violence, and tobacco and alcohol use.
Keeping Kids Alive: Preventing Youth Suicides
Sue Eastgard
Fear and stigma continue to permeate the topic of suicide. The director of a Washington State suicide prevention program discusses the importance of intervention by friends and family, schools, and communities.
Vaccinating Girls for HPV: A New Horizon of Hope for Cancer Prevention
Laura A. Koutsky and Matthew R. Golden
The authors discuss the new vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) and some of the issues facing a wide-spread vaccination program.
Hispanic Field Research Internships: A Public Health Workforce Pipeline Strategy
Linda Powell, Matthew Keifer, and Sam Byrd
An Idaho community internship project produced not only useful health data but also opened up public health career possibilities to the interns.
The Changing Adolescent Brain
Sarah K. Ramowski and Robert J. Nystrom
Resent research has documented the enormous changes to the brain in the years between childhood and adulthood. The authors discuss the implications of this research for public health programs for adolescents.
Web Special: Addressing Social and Emotional Issues of Children with Diabetes: A Checklist for Schools and
Teachers
Jennifer Thobro
Web Special: Annotated Resources on Adolescents
Laura Larsson
Web Special: Asthma Slide Rule: A Tool for Managing a Child's Physical Activity During Air Pollution Episodes
Uwe Reischl and Conrad Colby
From the Dean: The Importance of Our Youth
Northwest Region at a Glance. Northwest Youth: Selected Health Indicators and Characteristics
Complete Spring 2007 issue (low resolution PDF)
