MAIN TRENDS IN ACCESS TO PRIMARY HEALTH CARE FOR ADOLESCENTS IN GEORGIA

This study identifies barriers to accessing primary health care among youth in Georgia to inform strategies for improving the appropriateness, quality and usage of primary health care services. The quantitative survey was conducted throughout Georgia among 1000 adolescents 11-19 years of age via interview. Multi stage probability sampling was used to administer questionnaires in the schools, universities and in the streets between March-May 2014 and September-October 2014. Young people in Georgia identified a range of problems in accessing primary health services. By far the most important issues were preventive checkups, geographical access, cost of care, and perceptions about the quality of care. The majority of respondents (78.4%) declared that they do not visit family doctor when well, and 81.9% said that no information was provided about reproductive health issues. Most (77.3%) stated that their family doctor had never talked about health promotion or life style risk factors. Access to health care is still problematic in the villages; and in some areas young people must travel more than 30 minutes by public transport. Limited access in rural areas compared to urban areas was statistically significant (p<0.05). As our survey data shows, most adolescents do not visit a health provider annually, obviating opportunities to integrate prevention into clinical encounters. Because repeated contacts with a primary care provider may occur over several years, clinicians should ideally have multiple opportunities to screen and counsel an adolescent patient for risky health behaviors. However, young people report that there is little screening or discussion about healthy lifestyles. The biggest health challenge for young people in Georgia is overcoming barriers (socioeconomic, geographic, trust, and perceived competence) to visit a doctor for regular preventive checkups and to get health behavior advice from health professional. Addressing the health and development needs of adolescents requires a comprehensive and timely response, and interventions can be incorporated in many programs supported young population of Georgia.