Innovations in adolescent reproductive and sexual health education in Santiago de Chile: effects of physician leadership and direct service.
Reproductive and sexual health (RSH) education is a key component of most family planning programs around the world and is particularly important for adolescents, for whom parenthood is more likely to have difficult or dangerous health outcomes. A lack of comprehensive RSH education targeted at adolescents may augment the poor outcomes associated with early pregnancy by creating barriers to optimal care. This article discusses the creation of the Centro de Medicina Reproductiva y Desarrollo Integral de la Adolescencia clinic, a comprehensive adolescent reproductive health center in Santiago de Chile, and its RSH education programs. In particular, the role of the physician in originating and leading the RSH education efforts, the controversy associated with RSH education in Chile, and the effects of comprehensive RHS education on the local and regional adolescent populations are discussed.
Grizzard
Tarayn
T
Harvard Medical School, USA.
González
Electra
E
Sandoval
Jorge
J
Molina
Ramiro
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D016497:Adolescent Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002677:Chile; D018672:Community Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010819:Physician's Role; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000517:prevention & control; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012731:Sex Counseling / Q000592:standards*; D012736:Sex Education / Q000592:standards*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D014504:Urban Health