Adolescent Preferences for Topics Addressed During Well Visits

Area of Science:

• Adolescent Medicine
• Public Health
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Limited evidence exists on adolescent preferences for discussion topics during routine healthcare visits.
• Understanding these preferences is crucial for effective clinician-patient communication.
• Barriers to dialogue and strategies to promote open discussion need further exploration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify topics high school students wish to discuss with clinicians during well visits.
• To explore barriers that hinder open communication between adolescents and healthcare providers.
• To determine methods for enhancing dialogue during adolescent healthcare encounters.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to 102 students at Verona Area High School.
• Data collection occurred between October 2014 and January 2015.
• The survey assessed preferred discussion topics, communication barriers, and strategies for promoting dialogue.

Main Results:

• Vaccines, mood, and stress were preferred discussion topics among surveyed adolescents.
• Female adolescents showed a preference for gender-congruent clinicians, particularly for discussions on sensitive topics like sex and body image.
• A significant majority of teens expressed concern that information shared with clinicians would be disclosed to parents or authorities.

Conclusions:

• Clinicians must emphasize confidentiality to foster trust with adolescent patients.
• Strategies to improve clinician-adolescent rapport include self-disclosure, demonstrating genuine care, and community engagement.
• Male clinicians may need to enhance their communication skills, especially when discussing sensitive issues with female adolescents.
• Incorporating discussions on mood, stress, and vaccines into routine adolescent well visits is recommended.