Abstract
Adolescents have generally been considered as a group with negligible health-related concerns, so it is not surprising that they have received little attention in terms of medical research until recently. This has resulted in their being largely ignored in epidemiologic studies, reinforcing the image that their medical problems are much less minor than other age groups. Adolescence health problems fall into the following categories; general health care, consequences of puberty, substance use and abuse, nutritional problems, outcomes of sexual behavior, consequences of psychosocial development, and health promotion and education. The important focus of the physicians' approach to the adolescent patients are privacy, advocacy, confidentiality, education, interaction and reassurance.
References
1. Marks A, Fisher M, Lasker S. Adolescent Medicine in Pediatric practice. J Adolesc Health Care 1990. 11149–153.
2. Fisher M, Golden NH, Bergeson R, Bernstein A, Saunders D, Schneider M. Update on Adolescent Health Care in Pediatric Practice. J Adolesc Health 1996. 19394–400.
3. Park SH. Adolescent Medicine and Pediatrician's commitment. J Korean Pediatr Soc 1994. 371483–1487.
4. Brunswick AF. Health needs of adolescence: How the adolescent sees them. Am J Public Health 1969. 591730–1745.
5. Macfarlane A, McPherson A, McPherson K. Teenagers and their health. Arch Dis Child 1987. 621125–1129.
6. Mechanic D. Adolescent health and illness behavior: Review of the literature and a new hypothesis for the study of stress. J Human Stress 1983. 94–13.
7. Millstein SG, Irwin CZ. Concepts of health and illness: Different constructs or variations on a theme? Health Psychol 1987. 6515–524.
8. Mendoza F, Litt IF, Moss N. Ethnic differences in patient-provider interactions in prenatal care. Pediatr Res 1987. 21176A.
9. Litt IF, Cuskey WR, Rudd S. Identifying the adolescent at risk for contraceptive noncompliance. J Pediatr 1980. 96742–745.
10. Litt IF, Cuskey WR. Satisfaction with health care: A predictor of adolescents' appointment keeping. J Adolesc Health Care 1984. 5196–200.
11. Cohen MI, Litt IF, Schonberg SK. Perspectives on adolescent medicine: concepts and program design. Acta Paediatr Scand 1975. 256Suppl. 9–16.
12. Iris F. Litt. Evaluation of the Adolescent patient 1990. Philadelphia: HANLEY & BELFUS 1st; 14–16.