HR0315 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0315 LRB096 12478 DRJ 25501 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, During the transition from childhood to adulthood, adolescents establish unhealthy patterns of behavior and make poor lifestyle choices that affect both their current and future health; and

WHEREAS, Many adolescents may not have access to primary healthcare services; in Illinois over 250,000 children between the ages of birth and seventeen have no insurance; of these children, 6.3 percent have not seen a physician in the last five years and 2.6 percent have never seen a physician; and

WHEREAS, Adolescence is a critical time to develop positive habits and skills that can lead to healthy lifestyles and behavior over the adolescent's lifetime; the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council conducted a study which found that one important factor in designing an adolescent health service is the focus on prevention of disease; one of the study's findings concluded that "prevention, early intervention and timely treatment improve health status for adolescents, prepare them for healthy adulthood, and decrease the incidence of many chronic diseases in adulthood"; and

WHEREAS, Adolescents and young adults are adversely affected by serious health and safety issues such as motor vehicle crashes, violence, and substance abuse; they also struggle to adopt behaviors that could decrease their risk of developing chronic diseases in adulthood behaviors such as eating nutritiously, engaging in physical activity, and choosing not to use tobacco; environmental factors such as family, peer group, school, and community characteristics also contribute to the challenges that adolescents face; and

WHEREAS, In the past few years, immunizations have been licensed to provide protection for teens against infections and diseases such as meningitis, tetanusdiphtheria-acellular pertussis, influenza, and cervical cancer; and

WHEREAS, The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the American Medical Association (AMA) recommend a routine healthcare visit for adolescents who are eleven or twelve years of age to receive recommended immunizations and other evidence-based preventive healthcare services; and

WHEREAS, The United States Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has developed, in conjunction with AAP, the Bright Futures Initiative, which provides a set of guidelines including recommendations on immunizations and routine health screenings for adolescents; and

WHEREAS, ACIP recommends the use of FDA-approved vaccines for tetanusdiphtheria-acellular pertussis, meningitis, influenza, and cervical cancer in adolescents; and the CDC has launched a national campaign to raise awareness about adolescent health and immunizations; and

WHEREAS, The Society for Adolescent Medicine has found that adolescent well visits are one of the best tools of preventive care to ensure continued health from childhood to adulthood and that children and adolescents who regularly visit a primary care physician are less likely to have emergency room visits and preventable hospitalizations; and

WHEREAS, Because adolescents remain under the guardianship of their parents, parental awareness of the need for an adolescent well visit plays an enormous role in the incidence of adolescent well visits; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we hereby express support for improved adolescent health and wellness by recognizing the importance of an adolescent well physical to prevent chronic diseases, help better identify and treat chronic diseases, and update immunizations; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be sent to the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Department of Human Services to disseminate to State and federal agencies and stakeholder organizations who can assist with the promotion of adolescent well-health in Illinois.