Teenage pregnancy is regarded as a significant public health issue but is it highly preventable. The problem is common and leads to negative sequelae for teenagers and children. The consequences of teen pregnancy include serious public health problems such as disruption of educational ambitions, economic stress, medical complications, mental health difficulties, and reduced chances of access to employment opportunities.
The population affected by this health issue is adolescents between the ages of 15 to 19 or even girls at the age of 10. Teenage pregnancy rates are different country-wise due, but US rates have been declining, and the record was 16.7 per 1000 females as of 2019 (Sharma et al., 2021). The challenges associated with teenage pregnancy demand careful consideration to establish effective preventive measures.
I chose this problem because it is associated with a heightened number of maternal and child mortality linked to pregnancy complications. Pregnancy and childbirth complications are among the leading death causes for teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 19 globally (Kiani et al.,2019). At teenage, bodies are immature, and adolescents encounter several health risks that complicate their chances of having successful pregnancies. The issue of teen pregnancy can be viewed as a moral problem because it is not appropriate for teens to engage in sexual activities.
Additionally, it is wrong to bear children before they can understand the weight of responsibilities associated with rearing children. Another aspect that the costs that teen pregnancy imposes on society in general (Franjic, 2018). This topic is relevant to my profession due to the roles that nurses play in reducing teenage pregnancy rates. Healthcare professionals and organizations can be instrumental in inspiring community efforts to deal with the issue by providing services and educational resources.
Definition of the role of Leadership and Change Management in Addressing the Problem
Good leadership is crucial in handling the teen pregnancy problem by influencing the establishment of suitable healthcare policies, encouraging collaboration, networking, and engaging in proper decision-making. Leaders must take action that will positively influence the efforts of solving the problem by using their competence to address the complex healthcare systemic demands. Change management can assist in installing a great management team and approaches that will handle the problem of teen pregnancy in a better way than before.
Leadership and management of the proposed program will determine whether every step is implemented as intended and whether there will be an effective success. The type of leadership determines the turn of events that will be experienced, including communication efficiency and other essential aspects required for the appropriate implementation of solutions.
How Nursing Ethics Informed the Development of the Proposed Intervention
Nursing ethics guides all actions to ensure the patient’s rights and dignity is protected. Additionally, ethical values ensure that fairness, accountability, faithfulness, and other moral traits influence interventions at all levels. The interventions were provided in better care for the group involved while ensuring no signs of discrimination or negligence of peoples’ needs and preferences. All three major interventions were checked to ensure they adhered to the NASW nursing code of standards that guides nursing practice.
Copy of the Intervention/Solution
- Creation of a community-based approach that involves church and community groups to teach school sex education.
- Enhance teenage knowledge concerning contraception
- Assist teenage mothers, fathers, and their families in the form of counseling, medical aid, nutritional education, and other issues such as ways to deal with school dropout cases.
Strategies for Communicating and Collaborating with the Group and Family
Strategy 1: Provide information to the public while targeting the youths and families through mass media, utilizing different channels to reach many people and reinforce the intended message. Mass media is considered one of the easiest ways to
Strategy 2: Linking messages and information to key community events to target the relevant population. With different events held in communities, nurses should collaborate with those in charge of such events and ensure they are given a chance to give information concerning the set topics.
Standards and/or policies that Guided My Work
Nursing practice is guided by several standards, including legal, moral, and ethical values. In preparation for the interventions to be used in dealing with pregnancy, I was guided by the nursing code of ethics and the need to ensure that costs, safety, and quality of life were improved by the intervention proposed. Solutions to nursing or public health issues should ensure the patient’s access to healthcare is made less costly, safer, and of enhanced quality. It will be easy to reach a large group of adolescents and pass the intended details by liaising with community event organizers, churches, schools, and other willing participants.
The state board standards were effectively checked and evaluated against the procedures established to ensure they were a good fit for this project. The nature of the solutions proposed was informed by evidence-based practice research to ensure chances of bias were diminished. Additionally, other factors that could lead teens to engage in risky behaviors, such as risky sexual behavior such as usage of drugs, and poverty, were considered in creating the proposed strategies.
Description of Research that has Tested the Effectiveness of These Standards and/or Policies in Improving Outcomes for this Problem
The effectiveness of sex education in reducing teen pregnancy has been investigated in different studies in the past. A study by Kantor et al. (2021) investigated the effectiveness of education on teen pregnancies by comparing different countries. The findings state that there is substantive evidence to indicate that comprehensive sex education (CSE) can positively impact the prevention of unplanned teen pregnancies and their associated consequences, such as increased infection with sexually transmitted diseases.
The study points to other literature with similar information, such as Goldfarb and Lieberman, to add to its credibility. Sex education includes providing details about the use of contraception, the importance of delaying engagement in sexual intercourse, reducing sex frequency, and safety techniques to avoid behaviors that can lead to unwanted sex or pregnancy.
One of the solutions provided in this project is education on contraception, which has great effectiveness. A study by McClellan et al. (2018) states that long-acting reversible contraception is one of the effective preventions of teen pregnancy. Still, education is also needed to ensure the instructions are followed. Such education should be spread to the community and parents on how contraceptives such as intrauterine devices and other recommended methods can be used effectively by teens in combination with other methods. Considering hindrances to access and adverse effects, everyone should understand the details associated with each control technique before accepting to use it.
How Technology, Care Coordination, and the Utilization of Community Resources can be Applied in Addressing the Problem
Ensuring interventions work effectively requires a combination of different techniques, including appropriate technology, proper care coordination, and community resources. In this project, technology can be used to reach the targeted population and educate them on appropriate ways to avoid teen pregnancy. Millions of teenage have access to the internet and social media platforms; hence targeting them by spreading information through those arenas can assist in improving the efforts of communicating the message.
Examples of digital communication sites applicable include Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Additionally, using gaming apps to spread messages targeting youths and adults with details concerning teen pregnancies and prevention methods can assist in adding to efforts applied elsewhere.
While care coordination has mainly been considered to happen with healthcare team members, it is important to integrate other players and factors that help prevent teen pregnancy. Nurses can keep records of teens who visit hospitals with different needs, such as consultation for the best contraception, and ensure they get assistance from other specialists. Other specialists may involve doctors and therapists to ensure teens get appropriate care and education to make informed decisions to curb unwanted early pregnancies.
Human issues are often complicated, and so are public health issues; hence, they need efforts from different team players to provide and implement effective solutions. Teen pregnancy is not only caused by adolescents’ sexuality but also by factors such as poverty, lack f adequate knowledge, social isolation, hopelessness, and poor community standards and expectations. People’s surroundings affect their health, including safety, access to quality health services, and access to job opportunities can impact how adolescents make choices. Service integration should be done in this project to ensure different agencies and people work as a team to implement the proposed solutions.
State, local, and federal level administrators should work together with healthcare workers to ensure human problems that increase the risk of teen pregnancy are solved. Nurses should work with schools and other agencies to provide resources and education according to community values and policies (Franjic, 2018). Different communities have different programs that provide information and services to prevent or reduce the problem.
References
Franjic, S. (2018). Adolescent pregnancy is a serious social problem.Journal of Gynecological Research and Obstetrics, 4(1), 006-008. Web.
Kantor, L. M., Lindberg, L. D., Tashkandi, Y., Hirsch, J. S., & Santelli, J. S. (2021). Sex education: Broadening the Definition of Relevant outcomes.Journal of Adolescent Health, 68(1), 7-8. Web.
Kiani, M. A., Ghazanfarpour, M., & Saeidi, M. (2019). Adolescent pregnancy: a health challenge. International Journal of Pediatrics, 7(7), 9749-9752. Web.
McClellan, K., Temples, H., & Miller, L. (2018). The latest in teen pregnancy prevention: long-acting reversible contraception.Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 32(5), e91-e97. Web.
Sharma, B. M., Sáňka, O., Kalina, J., & Scheringer, M. (2019). An overview of worldwide and regional time trends in total mercury levels in human blood and breast milk from 1966 to 2015 and their associations with health effects. Environment international, 125, 300-319. Web.