An analysis of adolescent health care and the role of the obstetrician-gynecologist.
There has been documented an increase in sexual activity in adolescents in the United States and a resultant increase in related health care for pregnancy, abortion, contraception, and sexually transmitted disease. This study characterizes some elements of these services and the attitudes of physicians in regard to adolescent sexuality. The Female Datafile from the University of Southern California--Mendenhall Manpower Study and the survey of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists on adolescent pregnancy suggest that obstetrician-gynecologists provide a large portion of health care to both adult (14.6%) and adolescent women (7.7%); that reproductive health care is primarily provided by obstetrician-gynecologists to female adolescents (76%); that adolescent care is generally less comprehensive in private practice than is recommended; that obstetrician-gynecologists could be the primary care physicians for both adult and adolescent women, since they are increasingly the medical contact point, especially after age 14; and, in view of the negative attitudes of physicians to adolescent sexual practices, that some training or reorientation will probably be necessary to prevent judgmental approaches from interfering with the physician-adolescent patient relationship.
D000293:Adolescent; D000295:Adolescent Medicine; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006176:Gynecology; D006801:Humans; D009774:Obstetrics; D010548:Personal Health Services / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D011320:Primary Health Care; D014481:United States