What interested me about this course?
Adolescent health promotion was my original impetus for joining the MPH program. Because behavior - hinged on decisions and choices - accounts for so much of the morbidity and mortality in this age group, I thought it would be the area where health promotion / education could achieve the greatest impact. Having now completed more than half of the MPH program, my interests have expanded, but I still believe adolescent health is where we can achieve the greatest good... if we can figure out what messages, experiences, visual cues, etc. will actually motivate young people to engage in the behaviors and make the choices we recommend, which brings me to...
What do I expect to learn from this course?
My dilemma about health promotion for adolescents really comes down to this: How do I persuade them to make sound choices and engage in healthy behaviors when I, at their age, completely ignored or even countered those same recommendations? What will resonate with them? What will break through? What will be relevant and credible for them? And how can we communicate health risks - persuade them of their own mortality - while still encouraging them to take creative risks, academic risks and other risks that will spur them to transition successfully to adulthood, dream big and achieve? We want to encourage them to think for themselves and learn through experience, but we don't want them to suffer in the process. What can we say or offer that won't sound hypocritical or out-of-touch?
So, what skills / abilities do I bring to adolescent health promotion?
I like to think I bring empathy, respect, a willingness to listen and decent communication skills to the task... but last summer, when my 19-year-old nephew was arrested for marijuana possession, I confess I was at a loss for words... what words will resonate? What will break through? What will be relevant and credible?
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