National Adolescent Health Month

National Adolescent Health Month™ (NAHM™) | HHS Office of Population Affairs

May 2025

This annual observance emphasizes the importance of building on young people’s strengths and potential, encouraging meaningful youth engagement in adolescent health activities, and highlighting key topics in adolescent health. Throughout May, the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) share information and resources to help you engage with the many facets of adolescent health.

Celebrate National Adolescent Health Month! 

National Adolescent Health Month is a time for adults from across the country to come together and support adolescents in our communities. During this month, and all year long, MDH’s grant recipients, health care and human services providers, youth-serving professionals, and parents and caregivers connect youth to services and opportunities that build on their strengths and potential.

Join us in advancing the vision that all adolescents in the United States have the safety, support, and resources to thrive, be healthy, and have opportunities. We can all come together to support individuals and communities working to create change that benefits young people!

This year, the National Adolescent Health Month theme is Taking Action to Advance Adolescent Health, with focus areas on:

• Engaging parents and caregivers.
• Ensuring access to information about adolescent health.

Theme 1: Engaging parents and caregivers

The family plays a significant role in nurturing the health and wellbeing of young people. Yet, the critical supports for parents and adolescents are lacking. The Minnesota Partnership for Adolescent Health supports strong, stable families and caregivers. We work with our partners to engage parents and caregivers.

Key Resources

• It’s That Easy! Raising sexually healthy children requires a combination of strong relationships, open communication, and clear messages regarding values and expectations. Professionals and community members who work with parents are in a unique position to support parents in their ever-changing role as sexuality educators of their children. While the questions and concerns change with age, the goal remains the same: to raise well-informed young people who make healthy decisions throughout their lives. The It’s That Easy initiative is designed to help parent educators incorporate conversations about sex and sexuality into their work with families.
• MNPAH Page on Positive Connections with Supportive Adults

Theme 2: Ensuring access to information about adolescent health

Prioritizing Research Approaches to Meaningfully Improve Adolescent Health

Adolescence—spanning ages 10-24—is a pivotal period marked by significant biological, psychological, and social changes. During this period, young people begin transitioning into adult roles within society. Research from medicine, public health, and social sciences highlight the critical importance of fostering adolescent health, demonstrating its benefits for both current and future generations.

The Office of Population Affairs (OPA) emphasizes the critical, ongoing role of research to advance adolescent health. Research helps us understand how changes in society shape our health. It also can provide insight on how to address emerging issues like the mental health impacts of social media, substance use among youth, and other health concerns.

Prioritizing Research Approaches to Meaningfully Improve Adolescent Health - PDF is an extension of OPA’s larger call to action for adolescent health, Take Action for Adolescents™. It is based on a scan of the literature and existing adolescent health research agendas as well as discussions with researchers, youth, and practitioners. This document serves as a toolkit to guide researchers, funders, and stakeholders in refining adolescent health research processes. It identifies three key priorities:

• Promote collaboration
• Embrace complexity
• Increase Transparency

Ultimately, this framework aims to promote research that is collaborative, comprehensive, and transparent, ensuring the findings are actionable and reflective of the wide-ranging experiences of adolescents.

Read the entire brief:  Prioritizing Research Approaches to Meaningfully Improve Adolescent Health (PDF)

Resources for Parents and Teens

• Advocates for Youth
• Power to Decide: The Campaign to Prevent Unplanned Pregnancy
• Planned Parenthood: Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota
• CDC - Reproductive Health: Teen Pregnancy
• Tips for Parents and Caregivers of Teens | HHS Office of Population Affairs
• MySelf My Health

Resources for Providers

• Infographic: Teens Visiting Health Clinic | CDC
• CDC - Teen Pregnancy Prevention for Healthcare Providers
• American Academy of Pediatrics: Adolescent Sexual Health
• 7 Tips for Youth-Supporting Professionals for Talking with Youth About Sexual and Reproductive Health - Activate Collective

Additional Resources

• Minnesota Adolescent Sexual Health Report
• Positive Youth Development Resources | HHS Office of Population Affairs
• The Minnesota Partnership for Adolescent and Young Adult Health