Vulnerable Population NUR/440-Health Assessment and Promotion for Vulnerable Population December 11, 2012 Vulnerable Population The vulnerable population I have chosen for this paper is teenage pregnancies. By definition, a vulnerable population is a subgroup of the population who are at the risk for poor psychological, physical, and social health than the population as a whole (Chesnay, Chapter 1, Vulnerable populations: Vulnerable People, 2012). Research and evidence does support that pregnant teenagers are at risk. After, watching some shows on television, reading newspapers, and working with a wide variety of staff, I believe that pregnant teenagers are a vulnerable population. Teenage pregnancies are connected with many social issues, such as higher poverty rates, lower education, single parent homes, violent homes, and low self-esteem.
Teen mothers are more likely to drop out of school, remain unmarried, and live in poverty, their children are more likely to be born at low birth weight, grow up poor, live in single-parent households, experience abuse and neglect, and enter the child welfare system. Daughters of teen mothers are more likely to become teen parents themselves and sons of teen mothers are more likely to be incarcerated (Hoffman, 2006). All of this can be linked to the teenager’s lack of access to care, fear and misinformation (Brown, 2010). Demographics Nationwide in 2006, 750,000 women younger than twenty became pregnant. The pregnancy rate was 71.5 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15–19.
Research shows that teenage mothers may come from violent homes, single parent homes, have poor self-esteem, a history of depression, and a history of drug or alcohol abuse (Quinlivan, Tan, Steele & Black, 2004). The average teen mother is 17.5 years old. UNITED STATES birth rates are higher than any other country. $9 billion are spent annually on teen pregnancy. Florida alone had 354,000 teen births between 1991 and 2004, costing taxpayers $8.1 billion.
They face foreclosures and job losses due to the deepening recession. The impact of homelessness begins well before a child is born. The overwhelming majority of homeless parents are single women, many of whom were homeless themselves as children. Homeless women face many obstacles to healthy pregnancies, such as chemical abuse, chronic and acute health problems, and lack of prenatal care. Children born into homelessness are more likely to have low birth weights and are at greater risk of death.
Young single mothers fit into this category as well. Describe the population’s demographics based on research of professional literature and websites including local, state, or national levels Within the last decade, births to unmarried women in the United States have risen dramatically, presenting challenges for young women to complete high school and attend college (Romo & Segura, 2010). According to the Center for Disease Control (2009), in 2007 nearly four in 10 births were to unmarried women, compared to about three in ten in 2002. This increase has been attributed too high out of wed lock birth rated among women in the 20s with six out of 10 births occurring for women between the ages of 20 and 24. Although teen births account for a smaller proportion of birth rates overall, the overwhelming majority of births are among unmarried women: More than 84% for adolescents girls aged 15 to 19 years (Hamilton, Martin, & Ventura, 2009).
One of the major factors of chronic stress is poverty. This “toxic” stress causes various negative outcomes in childbirth, such as the delivery of premature, low-weight babies, as part 2 of this film discusses. Studies have shown that as the socio-economic status of the mother decreases, so does the health of her child at birth. Some experts suggest that it is this stress in the mother that causes African American infants to be more likely to suffer from developmental problems, such as cognitive, physical, and behavioral deficits (Jackson et al., 2010). Chronic stress, such as poverty, is a physiologic reaction to both physical and psychological stressors.
This same study also revealed that, it affects the way people live, their consequent chances of illness and premature death. The conditions people live and die are shaped by political, social, and economic status. These inequity in health occur due to, circumstances in which people grow and live, work, age and the systems put in place to deal with them. The W.H.O., review for '' increased risk factors for substance abuse among teens , 2010. '', defined the risk factors directly related to risk factors are four main determinants.
These same women are prone to becoming obese because this same population has a lower income and education status. Therefore, this health analysis will focus on this target population who are prone to becoming pregnant at an early age and becoming obese (having BMIs greater than 30). The goal of this health assessment is to identify specific health issues, health behaviors, social and physical environmental factors that affect these women ages 15-19. This report will focus on primary prevention by supporting women ages 15-19 before becoming pregnant, as well as secondary prevention
In this essay I will examine how smoking, alcohol and the mother’s diet influence prenatal development. Cigarette smoking is proven to have a negative effect on the smoker so how could it be any different for a fetus exposed to nicotine. Researchers have found that smoking and drinking are associated with disturbances in the placental functioning and with changes in maternal physiology that lead to oxygen deprivation and may produce structural and functional changes in the brain of a fetus ( Mavis Hetherington & Ross Parke). Mothers that smoke have a higher increase of infants being born with growth deficiencies rather than non-smokers. Also common with maternal smoking is Sudden Infant Death Syndrom (SIDS).
This kind of cause occurs when a baby does not grow well in the utero because of problems with the placenta, or the mother's health or birth defects. Babies with Intrauterine growth restrict may be born early, also premature babies with intrauterine growth restrict may be very small and physically immature, and full-term babies with Intrauterine growth restrict may be physically mature but weak. Also, low birth weight also depends on the age of the mother. If the mother is a teenager, then it is more likely for her baby to have low birth rate, especially those younger than 15. Multiple birth babies are at increased risk of low birth weight because they are often pre mature.