Effectiveness Of Interventions For Youth Research Articles

Perceived benefits and proposed solutions for teen pregnancy: qualitative interviews with youth care workers.

The purpose of this article is to examine youth care workers' perceptions of the specific and unique sexual health needs of youth at risk for foster care. Semistructured interviews were conducted with youth care workers (N = 10) at a shelter for youth in or at risk for foster care. Youth care workers perceive that youth have unique experiences and needs related to sexual health programming and pregnancy prevention. Reflecting a great deal of family dysfunction, 3 themes emerged that revealed perceived benefits of teen pregnancy: youths' effort to prove themselves as adults, opportunity to secure their relationship with a partner, and desire to create an emotional connection with a baby. Lack of knowledge and accumulation of risk factors were viewed as most problematic. Current pregnancy prevention programs assume teen pregnancies are unwanted and emphasize the costs of sexual risk taking. Current findings suggest that sexual health programming for youth in or at risk for foster care should account for 3 perceived benefits of teen pregnancy. New opportunities for improving the reach and effectiveness of intervention for youth in or at risk for foster care are discussed.

Depression and diabetes in children and adolescents

Diabetes and depression are each public health concerns. They frequently co-occur, compounding complications of each disease. This review provides recent information regarding the mechanisms of association between the disorders and the availability and effectiveness of interventions for youth with diabetes who are depressed. Implications for primary care physicians are considered, particularly in relation to recognition of depression, and also to preventive strategies that increase the patient's self-efficacy (evidence-based confidence in his/her ability to manage diabetes) and serve as protective factors in the development of depression. Depressive symptoms are strongly associated with diabetes complications. To date, no studies have tested effectiveness of interventions with depressed youth with diabetes. Clinical trials with adults have shown the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy, but those with more complications show the least improvement, and health gains do not persist. In the absence of other data, these findings suggest that it would be prudent to identify and treat comorbid depression in children with diabetes early in the course of their illness, before medical complications develop. Primary care physicians are in an important position to recognize early signs of depression in youth with diabetes and refer them for treatment. Furthermore, the literature provides numerous strategies that can be employed by primary care doctors that may enhance diabetes management as well as protect against depression.