Comportamentos de riscos à saúde de adolescentes: ferramentas de avaliação e possibilidades de intervenção

Abstract

The booklet entitled "Adolescent health risk behaviors: assessment tools and intervention possibilities" addresses mental health, physical activity, and technology use as main topics. Adolescence is a period that needs a lot of attention because it is a phase with many transformations, psychological, physical, and social vulnerability, besides being a critical period, since many behaviors and habits are established. The development of this booklet aims to broaden the knowledge about the themes in focus, make available some transversal and interdisciplinary material resources for adolescent health evaluation, and provide strategies for possible interventions-actions. The work is composed of three chapters: the first one, "Getting to know the theme", introduces the reader to the concepts, current scenario, and recommendations related to the themes studied. The second "tools for identifying risk behaviors" contains instruments that identify health risk behaviors of adolescents, as well as their importance, how to use them and validation. The third "possibilities of interventions with adolescents" addresses suggestions of procedures for decision making and behavior change, as well as the adoption of an active and healthy lifestyle. It is intended for teachers, managers, health professionals, policy makers, parents and those interested in the themes addressed here, and they will be able to use the following instruments to assess the health of adolescents in various contexts: Questionnaire of Strengths and Difficulties (SDQ), Questionnaire of Physical Activity for Adolescents (QAFA) and Questionnaire of portable technologies and mobile Internet access (Tecno-Q). The booklet will qualify the work of teachers/parents, assist in the identification of local problems, so they can develop actions in the community, as well as create proposals for intervention with managers/governors to work in the prevention of diseases and promote healthy styles, active behaviors, and self-care.