J Korean Med Assoc.  2009 Aug;52(8):739-744. 10.5124/jkma.2009.52.8.739.

An Approach to the Medical Treatment of Adolescent Patients and Health Problems of Adolescents

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Korea University College of Medicine, Korea. shpark@kumc.or.kr

Abstract

Adolescents have generally been considered as a group with negligible health-related concerns, so it is not surprising that they have received little attention in terms of medical research until recently. This has resulted in their being largely ignored in epidemiologic studies, reinforcing the image that their medical problems are much less minor than other age groups. Adolescence health problems fall into the following categories; general health care, consequences of puberty, substance use and abuse, nutritional problems, outcomes of sexual behavior, consequences of psychosocial development, and health promotion and education. The important focus of the physicians' approach to the adolescent patients are privacy, advocacy, confidentiality, education, interaction and reassurance.

Keyword

Health problems; Approach; Adolescents

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Confidentiality
Delivery of Health Care
Health Promotion
Humans
Privacy
Puberty
Sexual Behavior

Reference

1. Marks A, Fisher M, Lasker S. Adolescent Medicine in Pediatric practice. J Adolesc Health Care. 1990. 11:149–153.
Article
2. Fisher M, Golden NH, Bergeson R, Bernstein A, Saunders D, Schneider M. Update on Adolescent Health Care in Pediatric Practice. J Adolesc Health. 1996. 19:394–400.
Article
3. Park SH. Adolescent Medicine and Pediatrician's commitment. J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1994. 37:1483–1487.
4. Brunswick AF. Health needs of adolescence: How the adolescent sees them. Am J Public Health. 1969. 59:1730–1745.
5. Macfarlane A, McPherson A, McPherson K. Teenagers and their health. Arch Dis Child. 1987. 62:1125–1129.
Article
6. Mechanic D. Adolescent health and illness behavior: Review of the literature and a new hypothesis for the study of stress. J Human Stress. 1983. 9:4–13.
Article
7. Millstein SG, Irwin CZ. Concepts of health and illness: Different constructs or variations on a theme? Health Psychol. 1987. 6:515–524.
Article
8. Mendoza F, Litt IF, Moss N. Ethnic differences in patient-provider interactions in prenatal care. Pediatr Res. 1987. 21:176A.
Article
9. Litt IF, Cuskey WR, Rudd S. Identifying the adolescent at risk for contraceptive noncompliance. J Pediatr. 1980. 96:742–745.
10. Litt IF, Cuskey WR. Satisfaction with health care: A predictor of adolescents' appointment keeping. J Adolesc Health Care. 1984. 5:196–200.
11. Cohen MI, Litt IF, Schonberg SK. Perspectives on adolescent medicine: concepts and program design. Acta Paediatr Scand. 1975. 256:Suppl. 9–16.
12. Iris F. Litt. Evaluation of the Adolescent patient. 1990. Philadelphia: HANLEY & BELFUS 1st;14–16.
Full Text Links
  • JKMA
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr