Implementation of Social Media Screening into the Adolescent Well Visit

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatrics
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Adolescent social media use is prevalent and linked to negative health outcomes.
• Primary care settings infrequently perform social media screening and counseling for adolescents.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends social media screening and counseling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To increase social media screening and counseling rates in an internal medicine-pediatric resident clinic.
• To achieve and sustain a 50% screening rate during adolescent well visits over 18 months.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Model for Improvement with Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles.
• Implemented documentation macros for tracking screening and anticipatory guidance.
• Conducted monthly chart reviews over 21 months to assess intervention effectiveness.

Main Results:

• Achieved over 50% social media screening within 1 month, sustaining it for over 12 months.
• Sustainability of the 50% screening rate took 9 months to reach.
• Documentation of anticipatory guidance remained below the 50% goal.

Conclusions:

• Successfully implemented and sustained social media screening in adolescent well visits.
• Simple interventions proved feasible in a resident clinic setting.
• Barriers included documentation issues and physician turnover; anticipatory guidance may be underreported.