Considerations for Providing Adolescent Care

Creating a Teen-Friendly Office 

Primary care pediatric offices want to make all their patients and families feel comfortable and welcome. For patients who are 13-21 years of age, this becomes even more important. Creating an environment in the waiting room and exam room that is comfortable for teens can enhance the experience of the visit.  

Resources 

AAP Policy and Clinical Recommendations 

CDC Infographic: The CDC created this infographic to demonstrate the key components of a teen-friendly reproductive health care visit, and demonstrates a scenario for the flow of the visit. 

Physicians for Reproductive Health: This presentation highlights strategies for making a practice adolescent-friendly.   

Assessing Adolescents 

As part of the adolescent annual clinical preventive services visit, assessing the patient’s activities and behaviors is important. Using the HEADSSS framework can address the key areas that should be covered during this visit.  

Provider Resources 

Bright Futures Guidelines for Preventive Services: Provides information and guidance on a family-centered approach to care. 

CDC 5 Ps for Sexual History: The 5 Ps for Sexual History taking helps guide dialogue with patients and can be a useful way to help remember the major aspects of a sexual history: Partners, Practices, Protection from STIs, Past History of STIs and Pregnancy Intention.

Parent Portal: The CDC offers resources for parents to help them talk to their teens about reproductive and sexual health care topics. Other Helpful Resources for Providers, Adolescents/Young Adults and Families  

Healthy Children.org: The AAP’s web site for parents provides information and resources to assist parents/caregivers navigate their role in their teen’s care and support them during this transition.

Advocates for Youth: Provides information for youth to help them advocate for their reproductive and sexual health care.  

Communicating with Adolescents 

The transition from childhood to adolescence is exciting, but can present some unique challenges, especially when it comes to reproductive and sexual health care. The foundation for providing preventive health care to this population is building trust between provider and patient. While there are some questions that are difficult to ask, there are strategies and approaches that can be used to facilitate open and honest discussion in a confidential way. Below are some resources designed to enhance effective communication during the preventive services visits with adolescents and young adults. 

Resources 

Reaching Teens (requires purchase): More than 400+ videos combine with written chapters and an enhanced website platform to show how strength-based communication engages and empowers teens. It is an invaluable resource for anyone who works with teens, pediatricians and other physicians, mental health care providers, social service workers, and educators.   

AAP Clinical Guidance 

Bright Futures: These guidelines contain information and resources on how to provide care for adolescents with disabilities.

One on One time with Adolescents: This fact sheet from the CDC outlines the importance of one-on-one time between adolescents and providers. 

Healthy Children.org: The AAP’s website for parents offers information to help families better communicate with their teenagers.

Connecting with Families 

A right of passage for both adolescents and their parents is the transition from childhood to adolescence, which includes increased independence around health care decision-making. Primary care providers play an important role in this transition by providing information and guidance around the need for confidential discussions and private time between the physician and adolescent. Below are resources for providers, adolescents/young adults, and families that can help facilitate this transition. 

It is important for parents/caregivers and adolescent patients to be informed of the practice’s policies around the teen-friendly clinical preventive services visit before the visit. This includes sharing information with the parents/caregivers and adolescent patient on the following policies: 

• Each teen has an opportunity for examination and counseling without parents/caregivers present, and the teen’s privacy is respected. 
• Parents and guardians are informed of the practice’s standard procedure for the provider to spend time alone with teen patients to discuss their comprehensive health and wellness. 
• The provider encourages the teen to involve parents or guardians in the teen’s health care decisions. 
• Parents receive clear information on their teen’s right to confidentiality, privacy, and informed consent. 
• Parents receive medically accurate information and resources on contraceptive and reproductive health, as needed or as requested. 
• Parents receive resources on parent-teen communication and adolescent health and development. 

Adolescent and Family Resources 

Parent Portal: The CDC offers resources for parents to help them talk to their teens about reproductive and sexual health care topics. 

Healthy Children.org: The AAP’s website for parents provides information and resources to assist parents/caregivers navigate their role in their teen’s care and support them during this transition.

Advocates for Youth: Provides information for youth to help them advocate for their reproductive and sexual health care.