Pattern and consequences of first visits to obstetricians/gynecologists by adolescents: a nationwide study in Taiwan
Background: - Some adolescents have special health care needs. Privacy concerns, unawareness or ethnical/cultural factors are barriers to women visiting obstetricians/gynecologists (OB/GYNs). The utilization of OB/GYN services by adolescent girls is seldom reported. The aim of this study was to inv...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
March 2010
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| In: |
Journal of the Chinese Medical Association
Year: 2010, Volume: 73, Issue: 3, Pages: 144-149 |
| ISSN: | 1728-7731 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/S1726-4901(10)70029-0 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1726-4901(10)70029-0 Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://journals.lww.com/jcma/abstract/2010/03000/pattern_and_consequences_of_first_visits_to.5.aspx 
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| Author Notes: | Hsiao-Yun Yeh, Yu-Chun Chen, Irene Su, Li-Fang Chou, Hsiang-Tai Chao, Tzeng-Ji Chen, Shinn-Jang Hwang |
| Summary: | Background: - Some adolescents have special health care needs. Privacy concerns, unawareness or ethnical/cultural factors are barriers to women visiting obstetricians/gynecologists (OB/GYNs). The utilization of OB/GYN services by adolescent girls is seldom reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern and consequences of first visits to OB/GYNs by adolescent girls within the National Health Insurance in Taiwan. - Methods: - From the 1-million cohort dataset of the National Health Insurance Research Database spanning from 1996 to 2007, adolescent girls visiting OB/GYNs for the first time were identified. The characteristics of first visits were analyzed. Their follow-up visits and admissions within 1 year after their first visits to OB/GYNs were traced. - Results: - In 2006, only 5.8% (n = 2,682) of 46,582 adolescent girls in our study cohort had their first visits to OB/GYNs: 46.7% with diagnoses of menstrual disorders and 14.8% with diagnoses related to inflammatory or infectious diseases of the genital organs. The examination most frequently ordered was pregnancy test (for 19.9% of these first visits). Very few (0.4%) first visits were for preventive services. Among the infrequent admissions (85 admissions of 75 girls) to obstetric/gynecology wards within 1 year after first visits, the majority (74 of 85 admissions) were pregnancy-related. - Conclusion: - The leading motivating factor for first visits to OB/GYNs by adolescent girls was menstrual disorders. The majority of subsequent admissions were pregnancy-related, indicating that adolescent pregnancy deserves further attention. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 31.05.2024 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1728-7731 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/S1726-4901(10)70029-0 |