HR0315 LRB096 12478 DRJ 25501 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, During the transition from childhood to
3 adulthood, adolescents establish unhealthy patterns of
4 behavior and make poor lifestyle choices that affect both their
5 current and future health; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Many adolescents may not have access to primary
7 healthcare services; in Illinois over 250,000 children between
8 the ages of birth and seventeen have no insurance; of these
9 children, 6.3 percent have not seen a physician in the last
10 five years and 2.6 percent have never seen a physician; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Adolescence is a critical time to develop positive
12 habits and skills that can lead to healthy lifestyles and
13 behavior over the adolescent's lifetime; the Institute of
14 Medicine and National Research Council conducted a study which
15 found that one important factor in designing an adolescent
16 health service is the focus on prevention of disease; one of
17 the study's findings concluded that "prevention, early
18 intervention and timely treatment improve health status for
19 adolescents, prepare them for healthy adulthood, and decrease
20 the incidence of many chronic diseases in adulthood"; and
 
21     WHEREAS, Adolescents and young adults are adversely
22 affected by serious health and safety issues such as motor

 

 

HR0315 - 2 - LRB096 12478 DRJ 25501 r

1 vehicle crashes, violence, and substance abuse; they also
2 struggle to adopt behaviors that could decrease their risk of
3 developing chronic diseases in adulthood behaviors such as
4 eating nutritiously, engaging in physical activity, and
5 choosing not to use tobacco; environmental factors such as
6 family, peer group, school, and community characteristics also
7 contribute to the challenges that adolescents face; and
 
8     WHEREAS, In the past few years, immunizations have been
9 licensed to provide protection for teens against infections and
10 diseases such as meningitis, tetanusdiphtheria-acellular
11 pertussis, influenza, and cervical cancer; and
 
12     WHEREAS, The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
13 (ACIP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American
14 Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the American Medical
15 Association (AMA) recommend a routine healthcare visit for
16 adolescents who are eleven or twelve years of age to receive
17 recommended immunizations and other evidence-based preventive
18 healthcare services; and
 
19     WHEREAS, The United States Department of Health and Human
20 Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
21 has developed, in conjunction with AAP, the Bright Futures
22 Initiative, which provides a set of guidelines including
23 recommendations on immunizations and routine health screenings

 

 

HR0315 - 3 - LRB096 12478 DRJ 25501 r

1 for adolescents; and
 
2     WHEREAS, ACIP recommends the use of FDA-approved vaccines
3 for tetanusdiphtheria-acellular pertussis, meningitis,
4 influenza, and cervical cancer in adolescents; and the CDC has
5 launched a national campaign to raise awareness about
6 adolescent health and immunizations; and
 
7     WHEREAS, The Society for Adolescent Medicine has found that
8 adolescent well visits are one of the best tools of preventive
9 care to ensure continued health from childhood to adulthood and
10 that children and adolescents who regularly visit a primary
11 care physician are less likely to have emergency room visits
12 and preventable hospitalizations; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Because adolescents remain under the guardianship
14 of their parents, parental awareness of the need for an
15 adolescent well visit plays an enormous role in the incidence
16 of adolescent well visits; therefore, be it
 
17     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
19 hereby express support for improved adolescent health and
20 wellness by recognizing the importance of an adolescent well
21 physical to prevent chronic diseases, help better identify and
22 treat chronic diseases, and update immunizations; and be it

 

 

HR0315 - 4 - LRB096 12478 DRJ 25501 r

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