Inno-Health Clubs

Girl-Led Solutions for Improved Healthcare Access and Outcomes in Underserved, Low-Income Communities

BACKGROUND

Adolescent girls in Thailand experience a disproportionate burden of health challenges, such as the lack of access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information, which contributes to rising STD rates and teen pregnancy. These girls also grapple with mental health issues at a higher rate than boys, with one in seven adolescents having a mental disorder and a significant number experiencing suicidal thoughts. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated these concerns. Overall, these challenges highlight the need to empower adolescent girls with knowledge, resources, and agency to navigate their health and well-being.

THE PROJECT

This project aims to promote the health and well-being of adolescent girls in the Bangkok area through training sessions for adolescent girls, teachers, and community health officials on various health and life skills topics. Adolescent girls will have the opportunity to design projects to address health issues in their communities. Additionally, supervisors and community members will receive training to promote the health of adolescent girls, so they can provide guidance to the girls in designing these projects.

ACTIVITIES

The project aims to work with adolescent girls, along with teachers and public health officials in the community, who will act as advisors to collaboratively design a curriculum and implement activities to establish a community club in schools focusing on training in health knowledge and holistic life skills. Advisors and community leaders will receive health training to provide guidance to the adolescent girls participating in the project.

Additionally, adolescent girls will receive training in design thinking to develop solutions to community health problems. These efforts aim to empower adolescent girls to become “leaders” in disseminating health knowledge to the community through projects addressing community health issues. These projects will be presented at an exhibition to share results and foster participation from stakeholders, including launching a social media campaign to empower adolescent girls nationwide. The government’s digital health platform will be improved for easier access, and roundtable discussions will be held to share knowledge and experience gained with stakeholders both domestically and internationally.

RESULT

This project aims to promote the health and well-being of adolescent girls in the Bangkok area through training sessions for adolescent girls, teachers, and community health officials on various health and life skills topics. Adolescent girls will have the opportunity to design projects to address health issues in their communities. Additionally, supervisors and community members will receive training to promote the health of adolescent girls, so they can provide guidance to the girls in designing these projects.