Open Access
Subscription Access
A qualitative assessment of adolescents’ attitudes to health and seeking help for health-related problems
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Adolescence is a time of substantial change, bringing about the transition from childhood into adulthood. Patterns for future health behaviors are developed and continue into adult life. Little is known about adolescents’ perceptions of health and help-seeking within healthcare services. The objective of this study was to explore adolescents’ attitudes to health and seeking help for health-related problems.
Methods: A qualitative design was chosen. Interviews were conducted with 5 adolescents visiting a youth health clinic in Moss, Norway. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and analyzed according to systematic text condensation.
Results: The participants were 2 boys and 3 girls, ranging from 17-19 years of age. We found that all adolescents incorporated psychological and social qualities in their view on health. Positive social connections with family and friends were the most important factors for good health for all participants. They all conveyed resistance to disclosing mental health issues, although this was recognized as the most important barrier for good health. Establishing a trusting relationship with a healthcare provider was necessary before disclosing mental health issues and receiving help.
Conclusion: In our small qualitative assessment of adolescents’ attitudes to health and seeking help for health-related problems, we found that adolescents’ focus was on mental and social aspects of health and that a trusting relationship with healthcare providers was necessary for the adolescents to seek help within the healthcare system. Future research should be conducted to study more deeply what characterizes the relationship between adolescents and healthcare providers in order to provide the most effective and appropriate healthcare to patients during this particular period of life.
Keywords
References
WHO. (2011). Young people: health risks and solution. Factsheet no 345. Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs345/en/ [last accessed 10 February 2017].
Viner, R.M., Coffey, C., Mathers, C., Bloem, P., Costello, A., Santelli, J. & Patton, G.C. (2011). 50-year mortality trends in children and young people: a study of 50 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries. Lancet 377 (9772) 1162-1174.
Sawyer, S.M., Afifi, R.A., Bearinger, L.H., Blakemore, S.J., Dick, B., Ezeh, A.C. & Patton, G.C. (2012). Adolescence: A foundation for future health. Lancet 379 (9826) 1630-1640.
Casey, B.J., Jones, R.M. & Hare, T.A. (2008). The adolescent brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1124, 111-126.
Viner, R.M., Ozer, E.M., Denny, S., Marmot, M., Resnick, M., Fatusi, A. & Currie, C. (2012). Adolescence and the social determinants of health. Lancet 379 (9826) 1641-1652.
Statistics Norway (2016). GPs and emergency primary healthcare, 2015. Available at: https://www.ssb.no/helse/statistikker/fastlegetj/aar/2016-06-08?fane=tabell&sort=nummer&tabell=268713 [last accessed 10 February 2017]
Haavet, O.R., Straand, J., Hjortdahl, P. & Saugstad, O.D. (2005). Do negative life experiences predict the health-care-seeking of adolescents? A study of 10th-year students in Oslo, Norway. Journal of Adolescent Health 37 (2) 128-134.
Felitti, V.J., Anda, R.F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D.F., Spitz, A.M., Edwards, V., Koss, M.P. & Marks, J.S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 14 (4) 245-258.
Mauerhofer, A., Berchtold, A., Michaud, P.A. & Suris, J.C. (2009). GPs' role in the detection of psychological problems of young people: a population-based study. British Journal of General Practice 59 (566) e308-314.
Zachrisson, H.D., Rodje, K. & Mykletun, A. (2006). Utilization of health services in relation to mental health problems in adolescents: a population based survey. BMC Public Health 6, 34.
Malterud, K. (2012). Systematic text condensation: A strategy for qualitative analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health 40 (8) 795-805.
Demyttenaere, K., Bruffaerts, R., Prosada-Villa, J., Gasquet, I., Kovess, V., Lepine, J.P., Angermeyer, M.C., Bernert, S., de Girolamo, G., Morosini, P. et al. (2004). Prevalence, severity, and unmet need for treatment of mental disorders in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys. Journal of the American Medical Association 291 (21) 2581-2590.
Gray, N.J., Hughes, F.A. & Klein, J.D. (2003). Cultural safety and the health of adolescents. British Medical Journal 327 (7412) 457.
National Childrens Bureau. (2005). Children and young people’s views on health and health services. A review of the evidence. Available from: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ZYVAxCDrzQcJ:https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi%3FLMGT1%3DNW-EVAL-NET%26a%3Dget%26f%3D/Young_People_evaluationresources/05_Children's_views_on_hlth_services.pdf+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=no [last accessed 10 February 2017].
Moses, T. (2010). Being treated differently: Stigma experiences with family, peers, and school staff among adolescents with mental health disorders. Social Science & Medicine 70 (7) 985-993.
Corrigan, P. (2004). How stigma interferes with mental health care. The American Psychologist 59 (7) 614-625.
Meredith, L.S., Stein, B.D., Paddock, S.M., Jaycox, L.H., Quinn, V.P., Chandra, A. & Burnam, A. (2009). Perceived barriers to treatment for adolescent depression. Medical Care 47 (6) 677-685.
Sirey, J.A., Bruce, M.L., Alexopoulos, G.S., Perlick, D.A., Raue, P., Friedman, S.J. & Meyers, B.S. (2001). Perceived stigma as a predictor of treatment discontinuation in young and older outpatients with depression. American Journal of Psychiatry 158 (3) 479-481.
Gulliver, A., Griffiths, K.M. & Christensen, H. (2010). Perceived barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking in young people: a systematic review. BMC Psychiatry 10 (1) 113.
Bowen, G.A. (2008). Naturalistic inquiry and the saturation concept: a research note Qualitative Research 8 (1) 137-152.
Churchill, R., Allen, J., Denman, S., Williams, D., Fielding, K. & von Fragstein, M. (2000). Do the attitudes and beliefs of young teenagers towards general practice influence actual consultation behaviour? British Journal of General Practice 50 (461) 953-957.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5750/ejpch.v5i3.1315
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.