Seminar: Adolescent Health Risk (Suicide)
QUESTION
For this assignment, you will develop and deliver a 10–15 minute seminar/workshop aimed at the teen or young adult audience on a specific health risk associated with the population. You will submit your presentation using the Panopto recording tool.
Health risk associated with adolescence: Suicide
As the health care advocate, you will present the following to the target audience (adolescents or young adults)in 10-15 slides or screens:
An overview of the risk factor
Contributing factors
Prevalence of the health risk (meaningful data)
Explain your role with the issue as a health care practitioner/advocate
Ways to identify a problem and address the issue
Present an activity or project or exercise for the audience to engage in related to the topic
Help and support resources
In your research materials, incorporate 3–4 current sources with one containing the most current statistics.
Use age-appropriate creativity to ensure the message gets across to the selected audience. As you plan your seminar, consider:
How will you initiate a conversation (rather than give a lecture)?
How will you keep the attention and respect of this audience?
Use APA for citing and referencing your sources.
Keep your design and audio appropriate to the audience, yet professional. Your presentation must include both audio and visual components and be professional in nature.
Seminar: Adolescent Health Risk (Suicide)
ANSWER
Good afternoon guys, and great thanks for attending this seminar. It is not a lecture but rather an interaction. As adolescents, the majority, if not all, are experiencing several changes in their emotional and physical well being. Don’t worry about that; welcome to adulthood. However, some of these changes are pretty challenging to deal with, therefore, can cause significant distress. This session aims to understand the various challenges affecting you as an adolescent and unite and address these challenges. As future professionals who will take care of us when we get old, you are essential members of this society and therefore, your well-being matters to us. Being an adolescent comes with various challenges that can predispose you to other conditions, some of which are considered dangerous and impair your quality of life. The various stakeholders must collaborate and create measures that will help address the various challenges you are currently facing to secure a prosperous and healthy future. Welcome to this session, and let us discuss one of these health risks, suicide, which is currently a global concern with significant prevalence amongst you, the adolescents.
Suicide is a common term which I am pretty hopeful that the majority of you, if not all, have heard people talking about or read about. It is also unfortunate if some of you have struggled with this issue or lost someone to this health issue. I am genuinely sorry about your situation; if there is any, we are all together in this for a better tomorrow. Suicide generally refers to the act of intentionally taking one’s own life (Turecki et al., 2019). however, it is not a simple issue as the definition, as it has been associated with deaths globally. The increased incidences of Suicide globally have led to the creation of different agencies and bodies, which aim at addressing this issue to prevent future occurrences and enhance the quality of life even to high-risk individuals. Suicide is a significant concern, especially among adolescents, as this is the third leading cause of death among adolescents between 15 and 19 years old (Miron et al., 2019). The increased prevalence of this issue amongst you emphasizes the need to appropriately address it, as this will help prevent similar cases and in the future, thus securing the future generation.
At this juncture, I would like us to discuss the various factors established to increase one’s risk of committing suicide. Firstly, let us approach the issue from a general population view, then we will narrow down to the various risks which predispose the adolescents. The risk factors for suicide in the general population are classified into three categories (Stack, 2021). The presence of more than one risk factor in an individual further multiplies their risks. The political factors associated with high chances of committing suicide include creating laws that raise the living standards to levels that the average population cannot afford. This puts too much pressure on families, who may get overwhelmed and opt to commit suicide if no proper intervention is made. Additionally, policies and laws which increase availability and ownership of firearms increase incidences of suicide, as the victims find it easy to execute their suicidal plans. Lastly, laws that increase the accessibility of drugs of abuse to the general population increases the tendencies to commit suicide, as some of the drugs’ side effects include suicidal ideations (Stack, 2021). The social factors contributing to suicide in the general population include marital issues such as divorce, inadequate social support since it results in hopelessness and loneliness, some mental health disorders associated with suicidal ideations, and chronic health conditions such as cancer at terminal stages. Other social factors contributing to suicide include the breadwinner culture, which overwhelms men with the role to provide for the family, explaining the generally high prevalence of suicide among males globally compared to their female counterparts. Lack of a particular religious belief is also associated with an increased risk since religion is a protective factor against suicide (Stack, 2021). Lastly, economic factors such as unemployment and low socioeconomic status are also associated with increased risks, as these individuals cannot afford essential commodities (Stack, 2021).
There are specific factors that contribute to increased risk of suicide amongst you, the adolescents. This area is essential especially to you, as from this, you will understand the various risks and know what they mean to you whenever they occur. They are classified into biological, environmental and psychological factors (Bazrafshan et al., 2016). The biological factors include gender, the increased risk among male adolescents, ethnicity where there is increased risk among the Native American or Alaskan Natives, and an increased incidence among homosexuals than heterosexuals (Bazrafshan et al., 2016). The environmental factors contributing to suicide include family issues, conflicts and stresses, poor social skills where one is a loner and does not interact with their fellows, and low self-esteem, understanding and contentment with oneself (Bazrafshan et al., 2016). Lastly, the various psychological factors associate with include preexisting mental health problem since the majority are associated with suicidal ideations, substance and drug use, especially those associated with increased suicidal ideations and lastly, poor coping skills with the various hardships and challenges which life bring along once in a while (Bazrafshan et al., 2016).
Suicide is the third leading cause of adolescents globally. The rate of suicide among this age group is also significantly surprising. For instance, between 1950 and 1990, the suicide rate for adolescents in the 15- to 19-year-old group increased by 300%. Additionally, there is an increased prevalence of suicidal ideations, which stands at 6.2% that is relatively high (Liu et al., 2018). Statistics also indicate male adolescents are six times more likely to commit suicide than their female fellows. This issue affects all adolescents regardless of their racial or ethnic backgrounds. However, reports indicate a slightly higher risk among native American males, with naïve African females having the lowest prevalence (Liu et al., 2018). The prevalence is higher among adolescents who have contemplated suicide before compared to the first-timers. It is also higher among homosexuals, loners, anxiety disorders and those lacking supporting peers (Liu et al., 2018). A previous history of sexual intercourse and physical fight has also increased prevalence among adolescents.
As a healthcare advocate, this issue is very critical, and I have various roles aimed at addressing the issue and subsequently enhancing the quality of life even to high-risk individuals. Firstly, I have the role of promoting early identification of suicidal attempts and referring the high-risk persons to specialists for specialized care to address their issues contributing to such suicidal ideations and attempts. Secondly, I have the role of ensuring that there is plenty of information available to the public and professionals, which they can use to prevent the causes of suicides. I am part of the policymaking team, which through various policies, we help create strategies that will enhance the prevention of suicide cases. Besides, I also participate in establishing an integrated data collection system, which helps identify high-risk individuals. From this data, their situations are assessed and adjusted accordingly to minimize the risk of attempting suicide. I am also responsible for ensuring that those affected with suicide and those with suicidal behaviours have adequate support and rehabilitative services, which will help prevent their tendencies to attempt suicide.
Seminar: Adolescent Health Risk (Suicide)
In addition, I also must minimize the availability, accessibility, and attractiveness of the various means of suicidal behaviour to help prevent suicidal cases among those contemplating suicide. Lastly, my very critical role, which I am doing in this session, involves educating the public members regarding the various risks associated with suicide and how they can respond once they experience the warning signs of suicide, to prevent progression to the execution phase. Research indicates that enlightening the people about this issue will help them practise the various measures effective in preventing cases of suicide, thereby significantly lowering its prevalence.
Identifying the risks that can lead to suicide, either oneself or another person could save a life. It would be best if you understood the various risk factors associated with increased tendencies of suicide, as well as the warning signs that could point towards an individual wanting to commit suicide. The various risk factors I described earlier are critical and could be significant in identifying an individual who is likely to commit suicide; hence through effective management, they can be convinced to change their minds by addressing the various factors that could predispose them to suicide. The various warning signs you should be keen about and address as quickly as possible once you notice them include; Threatening to hurt or kill oneself, planning ways to kill oneself and trying to access the means to kill themselves, and talking or writing about death, dying or suicide. The other warning signs are; expressing feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness, that life is not worth living, engaging in reckless or risky behaviour without concern for their safety, and talking or writing about being a burden to others (Ramchand et al., 2017). It is essential to develop ways to address this issue to prevent it and reduce its prevalence. Some of the ways to address this issue in case you have suicidal ideation include; think about getting through the day and stop focusing on the future, as the future is full of uncertainties, some of which may worsen your current state. Secondly, get someone to talk to, either a friend, family member or a helpline, regarding how you generally feel (Richards et al., 2019). If the ideations persist, contact a health professional, a general practitioner or a community health worker with the necessary specialization. It is also essential to distract yourself by doing activities you enjoy doing, move to places that you feel safer, such as a friend’s place, avoid lonely places such as your bedroom, and, lastly, engage in exercise and relax your mind (Richards et al., 2019).
Right here. Critically think about this case scenario and respond to the questions below, after which we will discuss the same.
In summary, suicide is a major global concern, with a significantly high risk among adolescents. This issue is the third leading cause of death among adolescents, emphasizing the need to enlighten the adolescents about the various risks associated with increased incidences of suicide, the warning signs, and what one needs to do when they experience the warning signs. The various measures developed to address these issues should be implemented, and the population encouraged to observe them diligently, as it will help them overcome this dreadful act. Failing by the various stakeholders and individuals at risk to comply with the identified measures will cause increased incidences of new cases of suicide among adolescents, which is a threat to future generations.
References
Bazrafshan, M. R., Sharif, F., Molazem, Z., & Mani, A. (2016). Exploring the risk factors contributing to suicide attempt among adolescents: A qualitative study. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research, 21(1), 93.
Liu, X., Huang, Y., & Liu, Y. (2018). Prevalence, distribution, and associated factors of suicide attempts in young adolescents: School-based data from 40 low-income and middle-income countries. PloS one, 13(12), e0207823.
Miron, O., Yu, K. H., Wilf-Miron, R., & Kohane, I. S. (2019). Suicide rates among adolescents and young adults in the United States, 2000-2017. Jama, 321(23), 2362-2364.
Ramchand, R., Franklin, E., Thornton, E., Deland, S., & Rouse, J. (2017). Opportunities to intervene?“Warning signs” for suicide in the days before dying. Death studies, 41(6), 368-375.
Richards, J. E., Whiteside, U., Ludman, E. J., Pabiniak, C., Kirlin, B., Hidalgo, R., & Simon, G. (2019). Understanding why patients may not report suicidal ideation at a health care visit prior to a suicide attempt: a qualitative study. Psychiatric Services, 70(1), 40-45.
Stack, S. (2021). Contributing factors to suicide: Political, social, cultural and economic. Preventive medicine, 152, 106498.
Turecki, G., Brent, D. A., Gunnell, D., O’Connor, R. C., Oquendo, M. A., Pirkis, J., & Stanley, B. H. (2019). Suicide and suicide risk. Nature reviews Disease primers, 5(1), 1-22.