New report looks at health of Arizona teens

The Arizona Alliance for Adolescent Health, or The Alliance, which is a program of Affirm, Arizona’s designated Title X (Ten) agency, has issued the first-ever report on the health and wellbeing of Arizona’s youth.

The State of Adolescent Health in Arizona: A Status Report looks at certain factors that influence their health and development. The data presented in the report comes from studies done between 2020 to 2022 and is focused on youth ages 12 to 17.

The results show the children who were studied did not regularly see physicians, did not get help for mental health, were struggling to read at or above grade level, live in neighborhoods with poor air quality, did not have access to fresh and healthy foods, or practice sexual safety. The report also mentioned there are children who are victims of abuse. As a result, the report indicates many of these children may grow up to have significant health issues or might struggle to find work.

We learned more about the report and its findings from Tracy Pedrotti, an Adolescent Health Program Supervisor with Affirm. Learn more about the report or download it from the Affirm website.