Mae-Lin Pinkstaff - Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic
Adolescent Health
What’s the problem?
The problem is the stress in adolescents caused by social media influences and surrounding environments such as schools and peers.
Why should the government care? Why should the public care?
Stress can lead to a lot of mental health issues. When not diagnosed and addressed in a timely manner, it can deteriorate the overall health of the youth. These mental health issues can include depression and anxiety which can often show up in physical ailments such as exhaustion, tiredness and complaints about malfunction of body parts or organs. The government should care because when adolescents are experiencing this type of overwhelming stress, it leads to long term mental and physical health issues which would require health care resources to address for many decades. The government has an important role in funding health care and implementing public health policy in the country. They should care about this increasing financial drain on the health care system by preventing adolescents from getting mentally and physically sick to begin with. The public should care because mental and physical health wellbeing is the fundamental of a citizen who is able to contribute to their family, community, and society. It is also an important contributing factor to the stability and safety of our society.
What are we doing right now?
School counselors are there to help aid students who might be struggling with problems outside of school.
What can we be doing more now?
Although the school counselors are available, they are stretched way too thinly. At the middle school that I went to, Foothill Middle School in Walnut Creek, it had almost 1,000 students with one school counselor. We should start prevention before we need intervention. Parents should restrict teens and preteens on their social media usage and make it a norm for high schoolers to be the earliest age to access social media, as it is when we have a better understanding of our values and morals. Another option is to educate younger children on how to cope with problems that they face in the world, such as time management skills, and how they should view the world and the problems they might encounter.
How is your solution building on current research?
Based on current research, there are several solutions to solve this problem that focus on building meaningful relationships with family members and friends. These solutions include setting aside time each week to interact offline with friends and families; reaching out to old friends; joining a club; volunteering; taking time to reflect and expressing gratitude. I know first hand how these techniques work because last school year, I practiced all of these solutions either on my own or in a class at my high school. I am happier and less stressed out about how other people think of me now.
Citation:
Robinson, Lawrence. “Social Media and Mental Health.” HelpGuide.org, 13 May 2021, www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health.htm. Accessed 7 July 2021.
Community Health
What’s the problem?
Teens who need jobs to support themselves and their families are underpaid and overworked.
Why should the government care? Why should the public care?
Some teens come from households which need their financial support, such as single parents households and new immigrant households where parents do not have the language skills to hold decent paying jobs. These teens have such a huge burden on them between school and work at such a young age which causes their mental health to deteriorate. Because they have to take on or share the responsibilities of supporting a family financially, they are forced to cut short their education. When young adults quit their education early, they tend to stay at low paying jobs for a long time, sometimes life long. They also stay in poverty longer which would require some type of government and public assistance which means more financial burden on the government and the public. The government and the public should care about this phenomenon because they could adversely affect the wellbeing of their young citizens and their families and future generations.
What are we doing right now?
The businesses are offering jobs to teens who are willing to work for minimum wages and long hours.
What can we be doing more now?
The governments (federal, state or local) should mandate higher minimum wage so adults who work could make a decent living for them and their families. The governments should also encourage or provide financial support for households that need financial contributions from teenage family members, so the teens do not have to overwork and/or drop out of school to support their families.
How is your solution building on current research?
When teens worry about too many things, it has been shown that it can lead to many mental health problems, including stress.
Citations:
Vogtman, Julie, et al. “Set Up to Fail when low-wage work jeopardizes parents’ and children’s success.” National Women’s Law Center, 28 Jan. 2016. https://nwlc.org/resources/set-up-to-fail-when-low-wage-work-jeopardizes-parents-and-childrens-success/. Accessed 7 July, 2021.
“Balancing Work and School.” Mental Health America, https://mhanational.org/balancing-work-and-school. Accessed 7 July, 2021.
Freking, Kevin, et al. “CBO Finds $15 Minimum Wage Would Reduce Poverty, Increase Federal Debt.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 8 Feb. 2021, www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/cbo-finds-15-minimum-wage-would-reduce-poverty-increase-federal-debt. Accessed 7 July, 2021.
Worldwide Public Health
What’s the problem?
Lack of life-saving vaccines to children in developing countries has been a long standing public health issue worldwide. It has and continues to cause death and human suffering from preventable diseases.
Why should the government care? Why should the public care?
The government of the developing countries should care because high human mortality and/or disability from diseases will cause loss of labor and economic development opportunities in their countries which will lead to loss of GDP. The sickness and diseases put a huge drain on the health care systems as well. The public should care because people’s lives are cut short from preventable diseases. It brings human suffering to people, especially children and their families. The international community should care because diseases transport with people in a global society and that our humanity demands us to care about each other’s well being.
What are we doing right now?
Large non-profit organizations have been spearheading on securing vaccines for children in the developing world. However, during the Covid 19 pandemic, due to economic hardship, transportation interruption and reluctance to leave homes, children vaccination rates have been stalled in the developing world.
What can we be doing more now?
Health care workers and volunteers in the developing countries should expand routine immunization services to the hard to reach populations, in particular, and also to reach out to the parents on how vaccines are being safely administered during the Covid era. Because a quality and reliable vaccine delivery service is dependent on many factors including the vaccine logistics, human resources, and community participation and partnership. And all of this could not happen without the government support and partnership with organizations and a shared responsibility among individuals, communities, and governments.
How is your solution building on current research?
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) advised the health care workers to continue to push out routine vaccination to children in the developing world especially in the harder to reach areas while assuring them the safety of vaccine administration during Covid.
Citations:
Shen, Angela K, et al. “The Future of Routine Immunization in the Developing World: Challenges and Opportunities.” Global Health, Science and Practice, Global Health: Science and Practice, 10 Dec. 2014, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4307855/. Accessed 7 July, 2021.
“WHO and UNICEF Warn of a Decline in Vaccinations during COVID-19.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/news/item/15-07-2020-who-and-unicef-warn-of-a-decline-in-vaccinations-during-covid-19. Accessed 7 July, 2021.