Adolescent Health Flashcards
What is adolescence?
- Specific, unique developmental stage
- Occurs between 11-25 years
- Period of rapid and significant developments & challenges including social, emotional and physical (brain)
What social development do adolescents undergo?
- Establishing independence: shift in focus from parents to peers
- Developing self-identity
- Starting to develop sexual identity
- Characterised by various transitions and changes in social circumstances
What emotional development do adolescents undergo?
- Growing ability to regulate emotions
- Emotional outbursts can be triggered by barriers to development
- Increase in connections between amygdala and other brain areas
What changes with mental health are associated with adolescence?
- 10-20% will experience mental health disorders
- Most develop late childhood
What brain development do adolescents undergo?
- Brain development during adolescence helps to explain many of the behaviours common during this period (including health-related behaviours)
- Brain continues to develop into 20’s
- Area of most radical change is prefrontal cortex
- Understanding brain development and associated strengths/ limitations can enhance the care we provide to young people
What characteristics are associated with the prefrontal cortex of an early adolescent?
- Here and now focus
- Bullet proof mind-set
- Risk taking
- Winging it
- Impulsivity
- Difficulty controlling emotions
What impact does adolescence have on health?
- Increased mortality
- Highest graft failure rates
- Deterioration of HbA1c in diabetes
- Consistent across medical conditions
Why is chronic disease control worse in adolescents?
- Different priorities
- Different thought processes/ability to process long term outcomes
- Both chronic disease and adolescence are emotional journeys with a need to restructure identity
How should an adolescent consultation be set up?
- Offer to see adolescent patients in their own
- Introductions (may wish to use first name)
- Identify their agenda
How should you adapt the communication style for an adolescent consultation?
- Aim for a conversation, rather than an interrogation
- Open questions are usually less successful
- Avoid medical jargon
- Explore their priorities and concerns
- Discuss adherence to treatment
- Explore their understanding of their disease and treatments
What structure can be used to take an adolescent social history?
HEADSS
- Home
- Education/employment
- Activities
- Drugs/alcohol
- Sexuality
- Suicide/self-harm
What should you ask about regarding home?
- Where do you live?
- Who lives with you?
- How do you get on with the people you live with?
- Who would you talk to if you had a problem?
What should you ask about regarding education (employment)?
- Which school do you go to?
- What year are you in?
- Which subjects do you enjoy?
- What are you good at?
- Who do you spend time with at school?
What should you ask about regarding activities?
- What do you enjoy doing outside of school?
- Are you in any clubs or teams?
- Who do you meet up with at weekends?
What should you ask about regarding drugs?
- Do any of your friends smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol?
- How about you?
- Have you ever tried cannabis?
- How much do you smoke/drink?
