Nutritional needs of adolescents who have been placed in a youth home under civil or criminal law

A contribution to health equity

Health inequity due to social circumstances is currently the subject of numerous health policy discussions and strategies throughout Europe [1]. These same issues are also present in Switzerland, which is why they are an important policy focus of the national strategy “Health 2020” (“Gesundheit 2020”) from the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) [2]. The importance of these policy measures is made particularly clear by the elevated morbidity and mortality rates among socio-economically disadvantaged groups—a phenomenon that has been demonstrated in many studies [3–5].

Health inequity affects various population groups. In Germany, the German Federal Center for Health Education (Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung—BZgA) identifies persons with very low incomes, very low levels of educational attainment and prisoners as persons with an increased need for intervention [6]. These findings are also mirrored by the results of the FOPH’s literature analysis from 2015, which identifies persons in conflict with the law and those with addiction problems or weak social skills as among those affected [7].

Abstract

Health inequity due to social circumstances is currently the subject of numerous health policy discussions throughout Europe. Young people who exhibit dissocial behavior are one of the population groups affected by health inequity. They are far more likely to exhibit characteristics of social disadvantage. Ensuring a satisfactory nutritional situation is a key factor in the physical and psychological health of these young people who are at a vulnerable stage of life in terms of their nutritional and physiological needs and their personal development. With the goal of making a contribution to health equity, this study investigated the nutritional needs of adolescents who have been placed in a cantonal youth home in Switzerland under civil or criminal law. The results show that a high level of participation in the planning and preparation of meals as well as the use of low-threshold oral communication platforms are important interventions for improving the quality of nutrition in this context and thus promoting health equity for young people living in the home.

Keywords: health equity, adolescents, youth home, dissocial behavior, nutritional needs, public catering

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