ASHA plays an active role in the National Initiative to Improve Adolescent Health (NIIAH), a joint initiative of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Health Resources and Services Administration. Adolescence represents a unique period in a young person's life, a time when adolescents make significant choices that can affect their future for a lifetime.
The Steps to a HealthierUS initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services identified 107 objectives as important for improving health outcomes for adolescents out of the 467 outlined in Healthy People 2010. Of these, 21 are considered critical for adolescents and young adults.
ASHA serves with several federal agencies and national organizations to:
- identify best policies, practices and partners to attain the 21 critical health objectives;
- integrate positive youth development approaches in school health programs and services;
- help states and schools implement school health programs informed by work with the World Health Organization (WHO) to analyze and apply experience across nations to improve adolescent health, and from Health Passages: A Community-based Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health;
- develop model policy statements on health issues of particular importance to adolescents;
- increase the capacity of states and schools to deliver health programs and services to adolescents; and
- offer technical assistance, training and resources to schools on adolescent health issues.
The U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), a division of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sponsors Partners in Programming for Adolescent Health (PiPPAH). This initiative encourages alliances and collaborative activity among national professional organizations in support of adolescent health issues.
Partners in Programming for Adolescent Health (PiPPAH) Grantee Organizations
American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
American Bar Association
American College of Preventive Medicine
American Dietetic Association
American Medical Association
American Nurses Foundation
National Association of Social WorkersOther Partners
State Adolescent Health Coordinators Network
LEAH Program