Teenagers' perception of being an active patient and putting the concept into practice

To analyse the results of research on how adolescents understand the "active patient" concept, how often they undertake that role depending on gender and on whether they are suffering from a chronic disease.

The research was conducted in a group of 14-15 year-olds. It comprised qualitative research (focus groups, N=24) concerning the way the concept of an "active patient" is understood and quantitative research (questionnaire study, N=716). The research tool was an anonymous authored questionnaire with questions concerning the role of the active patient and chronic illnesses.

The idea of the "active patient" was not understandable to the teenagers, but they were able to enumerate many kinds of behaviours which are typical for such a patient. Among the 7 kinds of such behaviours, only two (presenting their ailments to the doctor and following the doctor's recommendations) were always or almost always followed by over half the respondents. The frequencies of undertaking behaviours typical for an active patient by girls and boys were similar. Teenagers with chronic diseases more often behaved actively during their visit to the doctor, but less frequently followed the doctor's recommendations.

Few adolescents actively participate in the process of diagnosis and treatment. There is a need for early education of children and young people to become active patients, since such an attitude promotes health throughout one's lifetime. Such education is first of all the task of doctors and nurses, and it can be effective only if the inter-communication skills with patients are improved. It is a necessity to support young people with chronic diseases in their treatment and in coping with their disease.