Physicians' perceptions of the status of adolescent health care within the military health system

Objective: To describe the nature of the health care delivered to dependent adolescents throughout the military and compare services provided in adolescent medicine clinics with those provided in other medical departments and clinics. Method: Questionnaires were sent to physicians in pediatrics, internal medicine, family practice, primary care, emergency care, and adolescent medicine at 101 randomly selected military treatment facilities. A subsample of experts was selected to provide facility-specific, informed, representative information on the care provided to adolescents. Results: Sixty-six percent (N = 345) of physicians returned completed questionnaires, providing information on 100% of the facilities sampled. More than half of responders felt that adolescents avoided care in their department. Two-thirds of all physicians, and three-fourths of the expert subsample, believed that adolescents are best served within adolescent medicine clinics. The expert subsample reported that adolescents served in facilities with adolescent medicine clinics received broader services. Only 28% of the facilities sampled provided any specialized adolescent medicine services. Conclusion: The military health care system has made progress in providing care to adolescent dependents, but reaching larger numbers of adolescents requires additional efforts.