The strange adolescent world that complicates general practitioner prevention: a qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Adolescent health
• Primary care
• Preventive medicine

Background:

• Adolescent prevention is crucial, covering sexual health, mental well-being, substance use, physical activity, screen time, and social relationships.
• Current recommendations often focus on single issues, complicating comprehensive care.
• Consultations with adolescents present unique challenges for healthcare professionals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the preventive strategies employed by general practitioners (GPs) during consultations with adolescents.

Main Methods:

• A preliminary qualitative study utilizing semi-structured interviews with French GPs.
• Participants were recruited through direct requests and snowball sampling.
• Grounded theory was applied for data analysis and category identification.

Main Results:

• Adolescent characteristics complicate prevention, causing GP "fear of failure."
• A disconnect between GPs' understanding and adolescents' world hinders empathetic prevention.
• GPs' personal experiences and interpersonal skills influence their preventive approach.
• GPs advocate for optimized, opportunistic prevention strategies.

Conclusions:

• GPs adopt opportunistic approaches, leveraging any consultation for preventive action.
• There is a clear need for dedicated tools and structured consultations to enhance adolescent prevention.
• Further research into adolescents' perspectives is essential to refine GPs' practical proposals.