About AHI

The Adolescent Health Initiative (AHI), a program of Community Health Services at the University of Michigan Health, works to transform the health care landscape to optimize adolescent health and well-being through practice improvement, education, research, and youth and community engagement.

We partner with primary care, school-based health, and youth-serving organizations that have spanned over 44 states. Our Team develops innovative, evidence-driven interventions through national and local partnerships.

As an organization, we are guided by our youth council, AHI’s Teen Advisory Council (TAC TAC), who helps ensure youth voice is at the center of our work.

The AHI Team at the 2022 Conference on Adolescent Health

AHI is guided by the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and a deep commitment to racial justice.

One of our primary goals is to prepare health care professionals to better support adolescents across and within all of their intersecting identities. Our Team works to ensure that all of our resources, events, and quality improvement models promote evidence-based practices and prioritize care for youth across a wide spectrum of identities. This includes, but is not limited to, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender and nonbinary youth, youth across intersecting racial and ethnic identities and experiences, migrant youth, young people across socioeconomic statuses, systems-involved youth, young people from all religious backgrounds, expectant or parenting teens, adolescents that have disabilities or identify as disabled, and any other identity marker that impacts a young person’s experience as it relates to health. AHI is committed to continuously expanding our understanding of how systems impact adolescents’ needs, and we recognize that this work is never complete. Addressing how power and oppression shape young people’s experiences in health care means being in an ongoing cycle of learning, which includes recognizing the gaps in understanding and the need for action.

The AHI Team invites feedback, collaboration, and critical analysis of our work. If you are interested in learning more or have questions, let’s be in conversation. You can reach AHI at adolescenthealth@umich.edu.

Based on the stages of adolescent development, we define adolescence as the period between ages 12-24 years. This period begins in early adolescence when youth are starting puberty and extends through age 24 when physiological changes are complete, and the brain is fully developed. Adolescence is an exciting time for development that also comes with specific health-related needs. At AHI, we are happy to be your resource for supporting adolescents as they transition from childhood to adulthood.

For more information on adolescent development, check out our Spark training on Adolescent Brain Development.

Adolescent Champion Model Summit with the Texas Youth Friendly Initiative