Adolescent Health Programme
Student Health Service
BackgroundBackground

Adolescence is a period of transition with significant physical, psychological and social development. In addition, adolescents today are facing academic pressure and different challenges brought about by changes in the society. Inability to cope with these changes would have a direct impact on their psychosocial health and their ability in establishing interpersonal relationships. This may also increase the risk of taking part in health-compromising behaviours like smoking, drinking, drug abuse, casual sex, deliberate self-harm, suicide, etc.

To empower our adolescents to face the challenges of growing up, the Student Health Service of the Department of Health launched the Adolescent Health Programme (AHP) in 2001. The programme is to provide quality health promotion services for our adolescents using a multi-disciplinary team approach. It is an outreaching service for secondary schools implemented by our professional staff including doctors, nurses, dietitians, social workers and clinical psychologists.

Service DevelopmentService Development

Since the launching of the AHP, the programme has been receiving good support and response. Through feedback from schools and evaluation studies, it is noted that the programme is well received by students and teachers. Evaluation results also show that students who participated in the programme performed better than those who did not in a number of aspects including health knowledge, attitudes, psychosocial health status and behaviours. To meet the changing needs of adolescent, we will continue to revise and update the programme regularly.

Programme ObjectivesProgramme Objectives

Programmes for students focus on promoting their psychosocial health like self-understanding and acceptance, emotion and stress management as well as harmonious interpersonal and problem-solving skills.

Programmes for parents and teachers aim at enhancing their knowledge on adolescents' psychosocial health and equipping them with the appropriate skills to assist adolescents throughout their development.

Basic Life Skills TrainingBasic Life Skills Training
  • Designed for secondary one to three students
  • A three-years training programme with a wide coverage of life skills include :
    - Emotion management
    - Establishing harmonious interpersonal relationship
    - Communication skills
    - Stress management
    - Self acceptance
    - Analytical thinking and problem solving skill
    - Adversity management
    - Time and money management
    - Goal-setting
    - Healthy living

Topical ProgrammesTopical Programmes
  • Designed for secondary school students, teachers and parents
  • A wide range of topics are covered for secondary one to six students in order to meet their needs in different stages of their development. Topics include :
    - Sex education
    - Diet and nutrition
    - Anxiety and adversity management
    - Establishing harmonious interpersonal relationship
    - Correct attitude and skills in learning
    - Prevention on smoking, drinking and drug abuse
    - Goal-setting
    - Prevention of bullying
    - Healthy use of Internet and electronic screen products
  • Programmes for teachers and parents include topics on :
    - Stress and emotion management
    - Understanding adolescents
    - Money management among their children
    - Healthy use of Internet among their children
    - Handling of adolescent dating and love affairs
    - Empower their children to face adversity
    - Conflict management with the children
    - Suicide prevention
    - Prevention of drug abuse
    - Skills to facilitate children to adapt to secondary school life