Adolescent preventive health care

Overview & Definition

A 15-year-old arrives “for a check-up.” The parent answers every question. You never ask about mood, vaping or partners. Growth looks fine. You stamp “well.” Two months later the same adolescent is in ED after a deliberate overdose. The missed work was not a rare syndrome. It was a preventive visit without youth-centred process. [16] [18]

Adolescent preventive health care is longitudinal, developmentally staged care that protects current safety and future health. It includes psychosocial assessment, confidential counselling, physical screening, immunisation, anticipatory guidance and planned transition toward adult care. Frameworks such as GAPS and Bright Futures operationalise that idea; local tools (for example Greig Health Record updates in Canada) adapt content by jurisdiction. The exam skill is the process, not brand loyalty to one checklist. [4] [16]

HEADSS is a structured psychosocial interview framework. Cohen and colleagues described it for high-risk youth: Home, Education, Activities, Drugs, Sexuality, Suicide/depression (with safety woven through). Many services use HEEADSSS, which expands Eating and makes Safety/Spirituality/strengths more explicit. Treat the letters as a memory scaffold for skilled conversation, not a robotic script. [1] [19]

[1] [13] [17]

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