ADOLESCENT MEDICINE PRACTICE IN URBAN PITTSBURGH 1990

Adolescent medicine has emerged as a discipline in the present era with few key curricular or skill areas clarified and little consensus regarding the acceptance and interest generated in pediatricians by this area. This investigation was undertaken to ascertain present adolescent medicine practice patterns in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The data generated are intended to serve as a basis for future comparisons. The methodology was a questionnaire design, with 178 (54%) of the questionnaires returned and subjected to analysis. The results indicated that 6% of pediatricians actually limit their practices to patients 16 years of age or younger, and 65% limit their practices to patients younger than 19 years of age. Most practices (64%) do not have a gynecological table. Only 20% of practices offer clinical services which would match the needs of adolescent patients, such as the prescription of oral contraceptives, counseling for homosexuality, or treatment of dysfunctional uterine bleeding. Most interestingly, pediatricians report seeing few adolescents with drug and alcohol problems or sexually transmitted diseases. These data provide the basis for future investigations.