Clinical Preventive Services
The area of Clinical Preventive Services is important for NAHIC faculty and staff because it provides a unique view of adolescent health issues.
One of the larger projects currently underway involves assessing the adequacy of preventive services provided to adolescents in California through a regional survey and an intensive assessment of a major staff-model HMO system. In the first phase of the project, supported by The California Wellness Foundation, an adolescent preventive services intervention was implemented and evaluated at 3 of the HMO’s sites. The intervention aimed to increase the delivery of preventive services in five areas: helmet and seatbelt use, sexual behavior, tobacco, and alcohol. The first phase included provider training, a customized adolescent screening questionnaire, a provider charting tool, and a health educator. The evaluation showed substantial increases in adolescent screening and counseling rates by pediatric primary care providers. With support from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the project has focused on assessing a revised model of the intervention without a health educator. This project has led to a number of articles, listed above.
NAHIC also has produced a short monograph examining the delivery of clinical preventive services for adolescents entitled Investing in Clinical Preventive Health Services for Adolescents.
NAHIC faculty have contributed their expertise to numerous local, state and federal initiatives to promote clinical preventive services for adolescents. Examples include:
