Missed opportunities for pregnancy prevention among insured adolescents Journal Article uri icon
Overview
abstract
  • IMPORTANCE: Birth to a teenaged mother is associated with adverse health and social outcomes. Adolescents at risk for pregnancy may not receive needed reproductive health services at primary care visits. OBJECTIVE: To review services provided at outpatient visits in the year prior to pregnancy among adolescents in a US Midwestern integrated health care delivery system. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective medical record review of continuously insured adolescents aged 15 to 19 years experiencing pregnancy in a nonprofit Minnesota health care organization. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Primary care visits in the year prior to pregnancy. RESULTS: Adolescents experiencing a pregnancy with stable insurance coverage had an estimated average of 2.7 primary care visits in the 12 months prior to becoming pregnant. Medical record review revealed that 57% did not have documentation of sexual activity and 47% did not have documentation of reproductive health counseling. These rates varied by health care professional type and visit type. Only 35% had contraception prescribed within 12 months of becoming pregnant and only 1 had a long-acting contraceptive prescribed. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Our data highlight the need for primary care professionals to review health behaviors and pregnancy risk at all adolescent encounters.

  • Link to Article
    publication date
  • 2014
  • published in
  • JAMA pediatrics  Journal
  • Research
    keywords
  • Minnesota
  • Pediatrics
  • Pregnancy
  • Prevention
  • Primary Health Care
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Additional Document Info
    volume
  • 168
  • issue
  • 12