title: A collaborative outreach clinic for pregnant youth and adolescent mothers: Description of a pilot clinic and its patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the pregnant youth and adolescent parents seen at an adolescent health outreach clinic in an urban community setting during a two-year pilot project.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective chart review of all adolescents who presented at the monthly half-day clinics from January 2008 through January 2010 (n=36) was performed. Measures extracted from charts included demographic information, reason for referral, social history, mental health history and outcome of assessment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All participants were female (mean age 17 years). Forty-two percent were pregnant at initial assessment, while the remainder had one or two children, or a recent pregnancy loss. Sixty-one percent had no primary care physician. The primary reason for referral was mental health concerns, most commonly depression. Almost one-half of patients relied on social assistance and almost one-third were living in shelters. At the time of first visit, 42% of patients were not attending school; the highest level of school completed for most patients was grade 8. The majority had a history of mental health issues and previous drug and/or alcohol use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adolescents presenting to the clinic had a history of disadvantage in terms of income, educational attainment, living arrangements and mental health background, and are in need of various health services including primary care practitioners. These findings will help to inform future program development for these vulnerable youth, and have implications for practitioners caring for this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario; ; Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario;
authors.forename: Megan E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Weinstangel
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario;
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dalziel
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario; ; Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario;
authors.forename: Katherine A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Moreau
keywords: Adolescent mothers; Community outreach; Health care access; Teenage pregnancy