January 2010
Introduction
The Washington State Adolescent Needs Assessment was developed to provide information on adolescents in Washington state for the Maternal and Child Health Block grant application and for use in planning efforts by agencies and programs targeting adolescents.
The information included here are not comprehensive but rather provide a picture of adolescents in Washington State. The target audience is professionals who work with adolescents. The Needs Assessment focused on three questions.
- What makes healthy and successful teens?
- What is currently available to teens to help them be healthy and successful?
- What needs to be available to help teen be healthy and successful?
The report has three major sections:
Data summary
This section includes highlights of major health and behavior issues for adolescents in Washington State. It is organized into 9 topic areas: Demographics and Access; School achievement and climate; Nutrition and Physical Activity; Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco; Injury and Violence; Oral Health; Sexual Health; Mental Health; and Environmental Health.
Focus groups
This section includes qualitative data gathered from three sets of focus groups with adolescents, parents, and individuals who work with teens. Each focus group addressed one of the following questions:
- defining a what makes a healthy and successful teen;
- identifying strategies for impacting abstinence education through a media campaign; and
- how to promote adolescent health.
The following sections are included within the Washington Adolescent Needs Assessment Report. Each chapter is a separate PDF file that can be printed as needed (requires free Acrobat Reader). The complete Adolescent Needs Assessment is available upon request. Please send requests, questions or comments about this report via email to: Assessment Support
Unless otherwise noted, all materials and forms on this page are in PDF format.
Data summary sections
School Achievement and Climate (PDF)
Nutrition and Physical Activity (PDF)
Appendices: Needs Assessment Process, Data Sources, Technical Notes and Definitions (PDF)
This report is supported in part by the MCH block Grant (B04MC04238) from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Title V, Social Security Act), Health Resources and Services Administration, and State Systems Initiative (SSDI) grant (H18MC00054) through the Department of Health and Human Services.
NOTICE: This report was published on January 2010. The internet links and other resources were current as of that date.