Addressing health needs of female adolescents in modernizing countries

Recent initiatives that focus on health care of female adolescents in the United States have not been adopted by most modernizing countries. Female adolescents, an age and gender group that suffers disproportionately from many behavioral health disorders, can benefit from regional and national health care policies that promote developmentally appropriate education and prevention. This commentary provides recommendations and concrete examples of approaches that improve health outcomes for female teens in modernizing nations. These include health information campaigns, empowerment education, the use of peer educators, and training of health care providers in adolescent-sensitive care.