WASHINGTON—When public health advocates study adolescent health, it's sex and drugs and rock and roll—and prevention.
At the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA) here late last year, most of the sessions on teenagers focused on studying how risky behavior, the use of alcohol and other drugs, and unsafe sex can be discouraged.
Most of the research presented on adolescent health called for more research, but several trends and specific intervention techniques were documented.
GOING TO THE DOCTOR
Bradley Boekeloo, PhD, of George Washington University, noted that while there are very few places where questions of sexual behavior are being asked, one such place can exist—the physician's examination room. Boekeloo found that physicians can make a short-term impact, at least, on adolescent sexual behaviors. He and his colleagues surveyed just over 200 boys aged 12 to 15 years, who received general physical examinations from 19 . . . [Full Text of this Article]
