A Mixed Methods Evaluation of Adolescent Friendly Health Clinic Under National Adolescent Health Program, Puducherry, India

Abstract

There is a huge gap between the awareness and utilization of AFHC services. The reasons for non-utilization were poor awareness and misconceptions about the clinic. Training of health staffs on communication skills, and supportive supervision could improve the utilization.

Contribution of community health volunteers in facilitating mobilization for nutritional screening among adolescents (10-19 years) residing in urban Puducherry, India – an operational research study

“…Similar studies involving CHVs towards adolescent health pertaining to the Indian context are sparse yet studies from sub-Saharan Africa have established the contribution of CHVs in adolescent service delivery.22,23 A study done by Mahalakshmi et al in 2018 in the same setting showed similar results of poor utilization of adolescent health services and the need for awareness generation and community action to improve coverage. 24 The major strength of our study was the fact that we employed a logistic model for evaluating the CHVs contribution in community mobilization for adolescent health screening. Our analysis also adds to the limited literature evaluating CHV's contribution to health promotion activities, especially towards adolescent health in South India.…”

Health Workers’ Perceptions about Maternal and Adolescent Health among Marginalized Populations in India: A Multi-Centric Qualitative Study

“…There is mixed evidence on the utilization of adolescent-friendly health services. While a study from Maharashtra reported that there had been an increase in the number of adolescents seeking clinics for preventive or curative services, [11] the others reported that only a few adolescent girls/young women, and none of the boys/men, utilized the clinics [11,12,26,27]. Clinics attached to medical colleges or hospitals are accessible, clean, and the timings are appropriate [28].…”

“…Services pertaining to resolving queries about physiological changes during adolescence, menstruation-and nutrition-related issues, reproductive tract infections, and skin disorders were sought by adolescents [11][12][13]26]. Quite often, privacy and confidentiality are maintained in clinics, [13,28] but it is still breached in many places [26].…”

“…Health workers, especially the frontline workers and medical officers, have been trained in delivering adolescent-friendly health services [11]. However, studies suggest a huge gap between the awareness and utilization of adolescent health services in the communities [12,13].…”

Acesso a atenção primária à saúde por adolescentes internados em decorrência de condições sensíveis

“…Estudos ressaltaram que adolescentes e adultos jovens têm mantido distanciamento dos serviços de saúde, especialmente, daqueles que prestam cuidados primários e que as equipes de saúde também apresentam dificuldades para acolhê-los (Martins et al, 2019;Silva, Barbosa, Barbosa, Cruz, & Marques, 2016). Estudo realizado na Índia verificou que para o aumento da utilização de um serviço pelo adolescente é necessário que os profissionais de saúde construam uma relação de confiança com os adolescentes, pais, e envolva seus professores com garantia de privacidade no atendimento (Mahalakshmy et al, 2019).…”