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Many factors affect child and adolescent mortality in high-income countries. These factors can he conceptualised within four domains—intrinsic (biological and psychological) factors, the physical environment, the social environment, and service delivery. The most prominent factors are socioeconomic gradients, although the mechanisms through which they exert their effects are complex, affect all four domains, and are often poorly understood. Although some contributing factors are relatively fixed—including a child’s sex, age, ethnic origin, and genetics, some parental characteristics, and environmental conditions—others might be amenable to interventions that could lessen risks and help to prevent future child deaths. We give several examples o f health service features that could affect child survival, along with interventions, such as changes to the physical or social environment, which could affect upstream (distal) factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the health of adolescents around the world using an international comparable data. It describes various indicators related to adolescent health which were selected for their importance in public health and their coverage of health outcomes in the young people. It mentions that the worst adolescent health profiles belonged to the sub-Saharan Africa, where there is a persisting high mortality due to infectious and maternal causes.

The article discusses a study regarding the use of prevention science to address adolescent morbidity and mortality worldwide. It mentions that preventive programmes and policies must be made to improve adolescent health. It states that international agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and the World Bank, should make guidelines to identify health risks faced by adolescents to come up with preventive measures.

The article discusses chronic conditions in adolescents. The author notes that certain conditions are characterized by an increase in incidences, such as diabetes, while others are characterized by better survival rates, such as cystic fibrosis. Still, conditions such as cancer result in poorer outcomes for adolescents. According to the author, adolescents with chronic conditions engage in risky behavior more than healthy adolescents. The article also discusses methods used to better understand ways of improving social and emotional aspects of these adolescents.

Focuses on a report from the British charity, Save the Children, which identified countries posing the greatest risk to young girls and their babies, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Indication the complications from pregnancy kill 70,000 teen girls and an estimated one million infants each year; Comment of charity spokeswoman, Mary Beth Powers; Recommendation for maternal health services and other programs.