[Youths who do not consult ... how to improve adolescent health care access?]

Several studies have shown that a substantial part of teenagers suffer from light to severe health problems but that many of them feel embarrassed to consult or have difficulties in accessing to proper health care. This situation is linked with two main factors: On one hand, adolescents live a transitional period of their life during which they no longer depend on their parents to decide when and where to consult and do not know how to use the health care system. On the other hand, as they are struggling for their autonomy, they usually want to solve their problems themselves and any form of help may be felt as a menace to their growing independence. This paper discusses several opportunities to solve the problem of the discrepancy between teenagers' health needs and health care. One first avenue is to improve the health professionals' knowledge and skills and to encourage a physician-patient relationship based on empathy, confidentiality and mutual confidence, as well as the professional's ability to focus not only on problems but also on the adolescent's resources. A second mean is to enhance the accessibility and attractiveness of the health care facilities and services. A third way is to develop a network approach, a close collaboration with the professionals who work closely with young people and who can thus encourage them to seek help when needed (low-threshold approach).