Treating Adolescent Patients
Taking care of young people is often a challenge, since they often do not visit their health care provider on a regular basis (especially boys and young men). The tools on this page – companion pieces to age-specific self-assessments for young males and females – are meant to trigger questions you may want to ask, even for patients in the office for a simple sports physical. ASHA’s goal is that every provider visit involves these important topics.
The tools were developed through a number of activities, including a literature review and research with the target audiences.
Checklists for Providers
These checklists are offer suggested questions for a clinical visit. Main questions within each domain are highlighted with supplementary questions for additional exploration, as warranted.
Patient Checklists
The checklists below can be used as companion pieces that young patients may bring to the visit to get them thinking about issues related to their mental and physical health, immunizations, and other issues.
Treating Adolescent Male Patients: An Interview with Dr. David Bell
To explore issues related to the examination of the young male patient, ASHA had a conversation with Dr. David Bell for our Sex+Health podcast. Dr Bell discusses ways to build rapport with patients, elements of the physical examination, immunizations, sexual health, and other matters of relevance to this population. Dr. Bell is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Population and Family Health at the Columbia University Medical Center. He is also the Medical Director of The Young Men’s Clinic at the New York Presbyterian Hospital.
These tools were developed by the American Sexual Health Association, School-Based Health Alliance, Healthy Teen Network, and Partnership for Male Youth, through an independent educational grant from Merck and Company