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Teen Preferences for Clinic-Based Behavior Screens: Who, Where, When, and How?
Carolyn Bradner Jasik1, Mark Berna1, Maria Martin2
1Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, California.
Purpose:
Previous research examining computer-based adolescent risk behavior screening was done before widespread adoption of smartphones and merits updating.
Methods:
This is a cross-sectional survey among 115 adolescents seeking primary care age 12-18 years. It is a diverse sample with 59% female, 51% white, 18% African-American, and 27% Latino. Respondents were asked level of comfort and honesty (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) when answering health behavior questions by paper, interview, or electronic device. Differences in the level of agreement were tested using a Wilcoxon signed rank test.
Results:
Adolescents reported a higher level of comfort and honesty for screening conducted via electronic device versus paper (90% vs. 57%, p < .001; 89% vs. 61%, p < .001). Sixty-two percent adolescents prefer waiting room electronic screening versus at home (4.7%) or by provider in the examination room (11.2%).
Conclusions:
Electronic same-day risk behavior screening is the preferred method for adolescents and should be incorporated into preventive services.
