ADOLESCENT MEDICINE AMONG PEDIATRICIANS IN CATALONIA

To ascertain if Catalan pediatricians were seeing adolescent patients, an anonymous self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 188 members of the Catalan Society of Pediatrics. The instrument included questions about training in adolescent medicine, type of practice, office and clinical practices pertinent to adolescents, and opinions and perceptions regarding adolescent care. Of 188 physicians, 69 (36.7%) responded. Respondents see an average of 12 patients (mean age of 16 years) in a 5-hr office day. The reported mean duration of a first visit for an adolescent was longer than for a child (39.7 +/- 15.4 min versus 33.5 +/- 11.3, respectively; p < 0.001), but there were no differences in length of time spent for follow-up visits. Only 20% of the pediatricians had different schedules for adolescents than for children, and 16% provided a separate waiting room; 29% preferred dealing with infants, 4.3% with children, 4.3% with adolescents, and 52.2% had no preference. Most (74%) believe that the pediatrician is the physician of choice to treat adolescent patients. Major-perceived obstacles to providing comprehensive care to teens include not having different schedules or waiting rooms, confidentiality, and the patient's perception of them as a "children's doctor." One-third think that they have the skills needed to give medical advice, 14.5% that they can offer comprehensive care, 1.5% are not interested in treating adolescents, and 43.4% would like to improve their knowledge and skills. We conclude that 1. Most Catalan pediatricians surveyed treat teenagers but little prevention is done; 2. most feel that the pediatrician is the "physician of choice" but that they should improve their knowledge; and 3. medical curricula should be modified to strengthen adolescent medicine.