BackgroundAdolescents experience high rates of depression, initiation of sexual activity, and substance use.ObjectivesTo better understand the demographics of adolescents presenting to an adolescent clinic in Uganda, and to elucidate which factors are associated with depressive symptoms, sexual initiation, and substance use.MethodsA retrospective review was performed on intake forms obtained during interviews with adolescents presenting to the Makerere/Mulago Columbia Adolescent Health Clinic (MMCAH) in Kampala, Uganda.ResultsDepressive symptoms in adolescents were correlated with having a chronic illness (p=.026), and reported poor quality of home life (p<.001). Initiation of sexual activity was also correlated with chronic illness (p=.008) and poor quality of home life (p=.006). Substance use was correlated with maternal death (p=.041), chronic illness (p=.038), and substance use among family members (p<.001) and friends (p<.001).ConclusionsKnowing the aforementioned risk factors can help us better understand the needs of adolescents presenting to MMCAH, and allows us to develop targeted interventions aimed at decreasing health risks in Kampala's adolescent population.
Background Adolescent medicine (AM) has been increasingly recognized as critically important to the health of individuals during their transition to adulthood. On a global scale, AM is often underprioritized and underfunded. In low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), education and AM training is developing, and AM physicians often are from general medicine backgrounds.Objective The objective of our scoping review was to identify existing training curricula and educational tools designed to teach AM skills to health care workers in LMICs.
MethodsWe followed PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews for article identification and inclusion. Online databases, including MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and Scopus, were used to identify papers. We included studies that took place in a LMIC, were available in English, and described any of the following: published educational curricula in AM, education-based intervention for HCWs that focused on AM, or a training opportunity in AM located in a LMIC.Results Our review includes 14 publications: 5 published curricula and 9 articles describing educational interventions or training opportunities in AM in LMICs. Curricula were relatively consistent in the topics included, although they varied in implementation and teaching strategies. The scholarly articles described educational materials and identified a number of innovative strategies for training programs.Conclusions Our review found existing high-quality AM curricula designed for LMICs. However, there is limited published data on their implementation and utilization. There is a continued need for funding and implementation of education in AM in resourceconstrained settings.
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