Enhancing the relationship and improving communication between adolescents and their health care providers: a school based intervention by medical students.
OBJECTIVE
To develop, implement and evaluate a workshop to help adolescents develop independent and active relationships with their physicians.


METHODS
A needs-assessment survey informed the development of a workshop delivered by medical student volunteers and incorporated into the career and personal planning curriculum of high schools in Vancouver, Canada.


RESULTS
Over a 6-year period, 64 workshops were delivered by 181 medical students to 1651 high school students in six schools.


CONCLUSIONS
The workshop is acceptable, do-able, effective and sustainable, characteristics that arise from the mutual benefits to all the groups involved: the medical school, the school board, the medical students, the high school teachers and students. The workshop provides a model for providing health care education to adolescents in the community.


CONCLUSIONS
Teaching adolescents the importance of good doctor-patient communication encourages them to take ongoing responsibility for their health care and is an alternative route to direct health care education.
Towle
Angela
A
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, 3250-910 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5Z 4E3. atowle@interchange.ubc.ca
Godolphin
William
W
Van Staalduinen
Samantha
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D001955:British Columbia; D003142:Communication; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003219:Confidentiality; D003479:Curriculum; D003657:Decision Making; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000458:organization & administration; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D017145:Models, Educational; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D015397:Program Evaluation; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012381:Role Playing; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires