The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
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Reducing disparities in teen pregnancy and birth rates among African American and Latina teens is a central focus of a community-wide teen pregnancy prevention initiative implemented by the South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Disparities in teen pregnancy and birth rates are driven, in part, by differential access to contraception and reproductive health care services. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand African American and Latino teens' 1) preferences for finding health information, 2) perceptions of accessing reproductive health services, and 3) beliefs about contraception. ⋯ Ensuring that teens' beliefs and perceptions are taken into account when developing, marketing, and implementing culturally competent reproductive health care services is important to improve access to care for all teens in Horry and Spartanburg Counties.
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Sexual and reproductive health and rights have gained prominence in the HIV response. The role of sexual and reproductive health in underpinning a successful approach to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and services has increasingly been recognized. ⋯ This leads to policies and programs which both fail to uphold and fulfill these rights and which fail to meet the needs of those most affected by HIV by neglecting to take account of the human right-based barriers and challenges they face. In this commentary, the authors draw on the approach and practical experiences of the Link Up program, and the findings of a global consultation led for and by young people living with and most affected by HIV, to present a five-point framework to improve programming and health outomces by better protecting, respecting, and fulfilling the sexual health and reproductive rights of young people living with and most vulnerable to HIV.
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Comparative Study
The Use and Out-of-Pocket Cost of Urgent Care Clinics and Retail-Based Clinics by Adolescents and Young Adults Compared With Children.
We describe the use and out-of-pocket cost of urgent care clinics (UCCs) and retail-based clinics (RBCs) as ambulatory care alternatives to physician offices among children, adolescents, and young adults, and examine differences in use by age. ⋯ Adolescents and young adults were more likely to visit RBCs and UCCs than children. Understanding of UCC and RBC use, cost, and quality of care is needed to inform policies on their roles in health care.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Long-Acting Reversible Contraception Counseling and Use for Older Adolescents and Nulliparous Women.
The majority of pregnancies during adolescence are unintended, and few adolescents use long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) due in part to health care providers' misconceptions about nulliparous women's eligibility for the intrauterine device. We examined differences in LARC counseling, selection, and initiation by age and parity in a study with a provider's LARC training intervention. ⋯ Continued efforts should be made to improve counseling and access to LARC methods for nulliparous women of all ages.
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The purpose of this study was to characterize young adult patients aged 19-25 years who are emergency department (ED) frequent users and study factors associated with frequent ED use. ⋯ Frequent users comprise a significant portion of the young adult ED population and present with a large proportion of visits for complications of pregnancy. Policies targeting this population might focus on improved access to primary and urgent care, acute obstetric care, and better coordination of care.