|
 
 |
| LETTER TO EDITOR |
|
| Year : 2012 | Volume
: 4
| Issue : 12 | Page : 670 |
|
Social determinants of morbidity among adolescents
Sunil K Raina
Department of Community Medicine, Dr. R. P. Government Medical College, Tanda, Himachal Pradesh, India
| Date of Web Publication | 4-Dec-2012 |
Correspondence Address:
Sunil K Raina
Department of Community Medicine, Dr. R. P. Government Medical College, Tanda, Himachal Pradesh
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/1947-2714.104329
How to cite this article:
Raina SK. Social determinants of morbidity among adolescents. North Am J Med Sci 2012;4:670 |
Dear Editor,
This letter is in reference to the article entitled "Social determinants and its influence on the prevalence of morbidity among adolescent girls" published in North American Journal of Medical Sciences. [1] At the outset, I must congratulate the authors for their choice of subject chosen for doing research in the field of adolescent health. However, I have some basic reservation with the methodology adopted for this study.
The methodology for this study can technically be divided into three parts: 1) dealing with sampling technique; 2) defining social determinants of adolescents; and 3) morbidity assessment of adolescents. The authors have done a good job as far the first two parts are concerned, and it is with the third part, i.e., morbidity assessment, my reservation is with. The article would better add some detail on how morbidity assessment of jaundice, CNS, or musculoskeletal disorders was carried out. A better approach would have been to define the morbidities and then assess on the basis of those definitions. Further, who exactly performed the clinical examination should be mentioned.
Adolescence is a transitional period in physical and psychological development of an individual. This period occurring between puberty and adulthood is characterized by the need to establish a relation with key developmental tasks, such as increasing individual independence and normative experimentation. [2],[3],[4] Being in the developmental transition, adolescents are sensitive to environmental influences, which can either be contextual or surrounding. [5] These environmental factors can either support or challenge young people's health or well-being. [5] The leading causes of illness and death among adolescents and young adults are largely preventable. [2] Health outcomes for adolescents and young adults are grounded in their social environments and are frequently mediated by their behaviors. Human behavior is influenced by individual, peer, family, school, community, and societal interactions. Therefore, understanding the relation between social determinants and morbidity among adolescent girls should take into account, the understanding of contextual environment, which again is largely defined by society and, therefore, social determinants.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Sachan B, Idris M, Jain S, Kumari R, Singh A. Social Determinants and its Influence on the Prevalence of Morbidity among Adolescent Girls. North Am J Med Sci 2012;4:474-8. 
 |
| 2. | Mulye TP, Park MJ, Nelson CD, Adams SH, Irwin CE Jr, Brindis CD. Trends in adolescent and young adult health in the United States. J Adolesc Health 2009;45:8-24.
[PUBMED] |
| 3. | McNeely C, Blanchard J. The teen years explained: A guide to healthy adolescent development. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Adolescent Health; 2009.
|
| 4. | Halfon N, Hochstein M. Life course health development: An integrated framework for developing health, policy and research. Milbank Q 2002;80:433-79.
[PUBMED] |
| 5. | National Research Council. Panel on high-risk youth, commission on behavioural and social sciences and education. Losing generations: Adolescents in high-risk settings. Washington: National Academies Press; 1993.
|
|
Search Pubmed for