Young teenagers' attitudes towards general practitioners and their provision of sexual health care.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy rates in under-16-year old teenagers and sexual risk-taking are both increasing. Ensuring that teenagers access health care--particularly sexual health care--appropriately is problematic. AIM: To find out the opinions and attitudes of 13- to 15-year-old teenagers towards general practice-based sexual health care services. METHOD: A quantitative survey, using a questionnaire completed during school hours. RESULTS: One thousand and forty five children aged 13 to 15 years completed questionnaires. The majority (709 [68%]) were aware of the sexual health services offered by general practitioners (GPs), and 786 (75%) were positive about being given helpful advice at a consultation. However, 567 (54%) teenagers believed they had to be over 16 years old to access sexual health services and 604 (58%) were concerned about their confidentiality not being preserved by their GP. They were also concerned about GPs not having the time or skills to deal with their problems (314 [30%]). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that work is needed to improve teenagers' access to, and use of, primary care sexual health services. In particular, identifying strategies that improve teenagers' awareness of services and general practitioners' approaches towards teenagers are priorities.