Marissa and her siblings’ cases highlight the plight of many children in homes in the world. Marissa’s case like many others is influenced by poverty, ignorance, and negligence from parents and caregivers. Psychological issues plaguing the parents often influence parental abuse. Parents in such cases then vent out their anger and frustrations on children. Teenage girls then seek and find solace, however temporary, in adult and teenage males who exploit them sexually, and bolt. Teenagers and children are at high risk of sexual exploitation due to their innocence and vulnerability.
Ignorance and lack of appreciation for birth control predisposes adults to over reproduction of children. These children suffer from malnutrition, lack of basic items, and inability to bond effectively with parents due to their high number. Parents then become overwhelmed and resort to crude and militant ways of handling their children, hence abuse. Among the basic necessities for a child are proper shelter and environment that supports physical, psychological and academic development (Evans, 2013), which were lacking at Marissa’s home due to over crowding. She also required some privacy and proper resting conditions due to her pregnancy.
Identify which case you chose: children
Discuss several risk factors that may impact health outcomes for the vulnerable population in your case study.
Malnourishment: malnourished children are at high risk of disease resulting from dietary deficiencies. Malnourished children could also suffer depressed immunity due to in ability of the body to produce certain antibodies. Disease prevalence and susceptibility to infection in malnourished children is of endemic proportion. Response to medication is also poor in these children.
Poor hygiene: in overcrowded homes, sanitary standards are often compromised. Dirty conditions are germ prone. These germs are responsible for infections of preventable and chronic diseases among children and adults. Poor hygienic conditions predispose children to re-infection and re-occurrence of disease.
Overcrowding: overcrowded homes not only deny the children of privacy, they also provide ambience for the quick spread of disease. Communicable diseases such as flu and dysentery spread fastest in crowded areas, including homes. Parents should therefore move to premises that provide more room, once the number of children increases.
Identify one agency in your community
Super MAMAs
Super Mamas is an informal community group, more like a neighborhood’s watch that makes deliberate moves towards ensuring that social issues are addressed. The issues range from reporting domestic violence to child abuse. The group also works with child protection services and law enforcement to monitor children progress in foster homes within their jurisdiction. They also offer relationship counseling and family counseling services to the community. They form the one-stop-destination for reporting of cases of abuse in my locality. My community due to the high cases of abuse, which have since reduced due to their interventions, readily accepted the group. Community members enjoy free services hence making their services accessible to the entire populace.
References
Evans, H. A. (2013). Teenage Pregnancy and sexual Health. Nursing Times , 109 (46), 22-27.