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 Adolescent Week
 A series of activities have been planned by
Apollo Hospitals in Chennai from November 14-21, 2004, which is being celebrated as
Adolescence Week.
WHO defines a child as someone upto the age of 18 years and an adolescent as between 10-19 years. Pediatricians have looked after the needs of growth and prevention of
diseases in young children so far. Indian Academy of Pediatricians, an apex body with 15,000 pediatricians as members, has taken the responsibility of looking after the needs of adolescents also all over the country since 2000.
Adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood. Next to the infancy this is the period when the physical growth is at its peak. The hormones have an effect on the physicaI as well as the psychological maturity of an adolescent. These physiological changes have an indelible effect on the youngsters who are capable of appreciating every minute change in themselves, said Dr Radha Rajagopalan, Director, Medical Education, Apollo Hospitals.
The psychological environment in which the adolescents grow has implications on their personality in future. The psychological, emotional, sexual and social needs have to be attended to by the medical fraternity, parents, schools and society. As pediatricians we are keen on preventing the problem behaviour in adolescents. The stress faced by today's adolescent is much more in comparison to the previous generation. Prevention and early identificatior of depression or any other symptoms in this community would help us in nurturing adolescence.
Over 22.5% of the total lndian population comes under the age group of 10 years to 19 years, the adolescent group and hence to understand the various health issues faced by youngsters during Adolescence is essential. It is also the key objective of the week-long programs being organized by Apollo Hospitals, on the occasion of Adolescent Week, starting from 14th November, 2004. The Indian Academy of Paediatricians and the Tamil Nadu Chapter of Adolescent Pediatric Medicine will join Apollo Hospitals in the celebrations of the Adolescent Week.
Dr. Radha Rajagopala,n, who is a Senior Paediatric Consultant with Apollo Hospitals, said, "Our aim is to educate parents, teachers as well as the adolescent about the adolescent health issues. We would like to reach out to them to make the transition from adolescence to adulthood a smooth process. We would like to take this opportunity of Adolescence Week to kick start this program."
The activities planned for the Adolescent Week from 14th Nov to 21st Nov 2004 from Apollo Hospitals are:
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Parent-Doctors Interaction Forum
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Adol Power open through the week
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Inter-school debate on adolescent related topics - to become an annual event Health check-ups for adolescents from government schools at Ayanapakkam
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A panel discussion to 'Influence of media on adolescent development'.
 Dr. S. Yamuna, Consultant Pediatrics and Adolescent Physician, Apollo Hospitals, said, "As paediatricians, we are keen on prevention of deviant behaviour in adolescents. Complete knowledge of the physical, physiological and psychological changes during adolescence would equip the youngsters to handle their body image problems, sexuality, peer pressure and thus pave way in preventing high-risk behaviour. Through the series of activities we are attempting to send out the message to both the adolescents and their parents."
The Apollo Hospitals Adolescent Week will be kicked off with an open forum for parents to come in and discuss adolescent related issues. Dr. Radha Rajagopalan, Senior consultant - Pediatrics & Adolescent Physician, Apollo Hospitals, Dr. Vijay Nagaswami, Psychotherapist & Relationship Consultant (Guest Speaker), Dr. S. Mohan Raj, Consultant Psychiatrist, Apollo Hospitals and Dr. S. Yamuna, Consultant Pediatrics & Adolescent Physician, Apollo Hospitals will talk to the audience on various problems faced during adolescence, the role of parents, depression in adolescents and other related topics.
The Parent-Doctors Interactive session is scheduled for 14th November 2004 at Marina Towers, near Albert Theatre. The discussion starts from 5.30 pm and is open for all parents. For registration and other queries, please call Adol Power at 28296008 or the Apollo Clinic on G. N. Chetty Road at 28276410. Entry is free for all for the Parent-Doctor Interactive session.
The primary focus of the forum will be on how certain aspects of development have to be laid to make it known to everyone that in the name of progress, loss of values in culture and traditions are bringing in challenges that produce health, emotional, social and other problems in children and adolescents.
Issues on abnormal sexual behaviour, drug abuse, accidents, suicides, violence, pregnancy related complications that not only confuse young adults but are also the reasons for most of the premature deaths among adolescents will be discussed. The role of teachers, parents, health workers who can help children balance the situation and come out of the various strides and challenges unscathed will be highlighted.
Doctors at Apollo Hospitals have also drawn out an agenda to speak to the adolescents directly. Guest lectures and discussions at schools and colleges in Chennai are planned. If any school or college is interested to welcome doctors from Apollo Hospitals to come and address adolescent related issues, during the Adolescent Week or even after that, they can call Adol Power at 28296008.
Adol Power, Apollo Hospitals Adolescent Clinic will be open from 4 pm to 5 pm during the Adolescent Week. It is an exclusive clinic for handling issues exclusive to adolescents. Parents, teachers and adolescents can vyalk into the clinic to discuss, share or consult specialists on the issues they are facing. Pediatricians who have been trained on Adolescent Medicine will attend to all those who come in. Adol Power is situated in the main Apollo Hospitals building, Greams Road.
An Adolescent Camp for over 600 adolescent students from government schools in and around Ayanapakkam will be held as a part of the Adolescent Week celebrations.
An inter-school debate is also being organized as a part of the awareness building process among adolescences. The topic will be sent to schools who can then send two representatives to fight for or against the topic. The aim of the debate is to make adolescents think for themselves on issues that have a direct impact on them. Apollo Hospitals is looking forward to making the debate an annual event in
Chennai.
'Influence of Media on Adolescent Development' will be the topic of the panel discussion that will be organized by Apollo Hospitals, as the grand finale of the weeklong activities for Adolescent Week. The discussion will bring together leading names from various fields of media, pediatricians, counselors, parents and teachers on the same platform to discuss the impact of media on the influential minds of adolescents. The panel discussion will be held on 20th November 2004 at Apollo Hospitals.
 WHO defines a child as someone upto the age of 18 years and an adolescent as between 10-19 years. Pediatricians have looked after the needs of growth and prevention of diseases in young children so far. Indian Academy of Pediatricians, an apex body with 15,000 pediatricians as members, has taken the responsibility of looking after the needs of adolescents also all over the country since 2000, said Guna Singh of the
IAP.
Adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood. Next to the infancy this is the period when the physical growth is at its peak. The hormones have an effect on the physicaI as well as the psychological maturity of an adolescent. These physiological changes have an indelible effect on the youngsters who are capable of appreciating every minute change in themselves, he added.
The psychological environment in which the adolescents grow has implications on their personality in future. The psychological, emotional, sexual and social needs have to be attended to by the medical fraternity, parents, schools and society. As pediatricians we are keen on preventing the problem behaviour in adolescents. The stress faced by today's adolescent is much more in comparison to the previous generation. Prevention and early identificatior of depression or any other symptoms in this community would help us in nurturing adolescence, Guna Singh pointed out.
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