Child and adolescent health in Europe: monitoring implementation of policies and provision of services

Aleman-Diaz, Aixa Y; Backhaus, Sophia; Siebers, Lisa L; Chukwujama, Obiora; Fenski, Friederike; Henking, Christoph; Kaminska, Karolina; Kuttumuratova, Aigul; Weber, Martin

doi:10.1016/s2352-4642(18)30286-4

Cited by 38 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…To a large extent, our results show that little has changed since then. They also reinforce the conclusion of a recently published paper underlining the lack of access to contraception without parental consent in several European countries or reduced access from age 15 or 16 years in others, as well as limited access to abortion—for those under 18 years—without the parents knowing 6 9. This is all the more problematic as in 17 EU countries, the minimum age limit for sexual intercourse is set at 14 or 15 years and in another 11 (including Switzerland) countries at age 16 years (https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2017/mapping-minimum-age-requirements/sexual-consent).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…The development of safe and meaningful sexual behaviour depends on many factors that lie beyond the healthcare system, including the existence of comprehensive sexual education or community preventive interventions. However, the quality of care delivered to adolescents plays a pivotal role in the promotion of safe sexual and reproductive health, specifically in the prevention of health-compromising issues such as unplanned pregnancy and STIs 1 2 9…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Do European Union countries adequately address the healthcare needs of adolescents in the area of sexual reproductive health and rights?

et al. 2019

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Background and objectivesAdolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are of particular relevance given their potential short-term or long-term health consequences. This study evaluates recommendations and policies regarding access to care in this area in 31 European countries (European Union (EU) plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland).MethodsAs part of the EU funded Models of Child Health Appraised project, data were gathered using a 43-item questionnaire sent to experts responsible for collecting information in each country.ResultsTen countries have not developed any formal policy or recommendation that guarantee the respect of confidentiality and the possibility of consulting a physician without parents knowing. Nearly half of the countries do not have centres specialised in adolescent healthcare, tackling comprehensive health issues or focusing specifically on SRH. Access to emergency contraception and information regarding pregnancy, including testing, is easy in most countries. However, oral contraception is delivered free of charge in only 10 countries. Twenty-three countries do not meet current standards in terms of providing policy-based pregnancy care, and only 13 have set up special programmes for pregnant adolescents. In only seven countries can adolescents definitely have their pregnancy terminated without their parents knowing (and in another seven countries in selected situations).ConclusionThe provision and availability of adolescent-friendly SRHR care are far from optimal in around half of the surveyed countries. These results call for the review and implementation of policies, specialised healthcare centres and training initiatives for primary care providers.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do European Union countries adequately address the healthcare needs of adolescents in the area of sexual reproductive health and rights?

et al. 2019

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“…What can be done to improve the situation? In our opinion, in the future, all European countries should endorse policies regarding adolescent-friendly primary care and the development of training sessions at under- and postgraduate level, as recommended recently by the Lancet commission, the World Health Organization, and various authors [2, 5, 9, 14, 16, 20, 21]. Apart from the development of policies, several bodies could contribute to the training of health professionals.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An exploratory survey on the state of training in adolescent medicine and health in 36 European countries

Michaud¹,

Jansen

Schrier

et al. 2019

Eur J Pediatr

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The development of adolescent health and medicine as a medical discipline lags behind in Europe compared with other regions of the world. This study aims to evaluate the structure and content of adolescent medicine and health training curricula for medical students, paediatricians, and other primary care physicians in the European region. A questionnaire survey was sent by e-mail to experts in the field from 36 European countries, addressing the content of adolescent health issues. Data was obtained from all 36 countries. At the undergraduate level, seven countries reported some mandatory stand-alone teaching (sessions dealing specifically with adolescents), while seven countries reported optional stand-alone teaching. In only 7 out of 36 countries were issues critical to adolescents covered as stand-alone sessions. At the postgraduate level, 15 countries delivered stand-alone mandatory training sessions to primary, secondary, or tertiary care paediatricians, covering most of the five critical areas listed in the questionnaire. In another 13 countries, such sessions were not mandatory and were inexistent in eight of them. The coverage among school physicians was similar but was much lower among general practitioners.Conclusion: Paediatric associations and academic institutions should advocate for a better coverage of adolescent health and medicine in the training curricula of health care providers. What is known: • In most European countries, adolescent medicine is still poorly represented as a discipline.• Experts have recently published recommendations regarding what form the structure and content of a training curriculum in this field should take. What is new: • This paper gives information on the extent and content of training in adolescent medicine and health as currently offered within under- and postgraduate European training curricula, in terms of stand-alone mandatory (versus optional) sessions.• In many European countries, both medical students and residents are poorly exposed to the basic knowledge and skills pertaining to adolescent health care.

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“…Research shows that people with a healthy sexual identity have a better mental health than the ones with a sexual identity disorder (3). In the same line, the study by Aleman-Diaz et al emphasized children's and adolescents' mental health in national and state policies (26). Even some studies examined sexual identity (27) and emphasized the importance of juvenile sexual orientation at school.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effectiveness of Sex Education Based on Mindfulness Training and Islamic Teachings in Improving Satisfaction with Sexual Identity Among Male Adolescents in Zahedan, Iran

Azarkhordad

Jenaabadi

Mehdınezhad

2019

Jundishapur J Health Sci

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Background: Sexual identity is an individual's sense of masculinity or femininity that has a positive effect on his/her mental health and well-being. Objectives: The current study aimed at providing sex education based on mindfulness training and Islamic teachings in improving satisfaction with sexual identity among Iranian male adolescents aged 12-15 years. Methods: The current quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design and a control group was conducted on a sample of 60 male adolescents selected using a multistage cluster sampling method, and every 20 subjects were randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group. The measurement tool was a researcher-made questionnaire on satisfaction with sexual identity to measure four emotional, perceptual, behavioral, and social subscales. Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the whole questionnaire and the subscales were 0.76 and 0.65, respectively. Its validity was confirmed by internal consistency. Results: Results of analysis of covariance showed that the scores of the groups were significantly different in satisfaction with sexual identity and its perceptual and social subscales. There was a significant difference between the experimental group trained by Islamic teachings and the control group in the emotional subscale. Concerning all of the subscales, the means of the experimental group trained by Islamic teachings were higher than those of the group received mindfulness training. Conclusions: According to the current study results, it can be concluded that sex education based on mindfulness training and Islamic teachings should necessarily be considered in school curriculums developed for adolescents to improve their mental health and prevent them from social harm.

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Child and adolescent health in Europe: monitoring implementation of policies and provision of services

Cited by 38 publications

References 19 publications

Do European Union countries adequately address the healthcare needs of adolescents in the area of sexual reproductive health and rights?

Do European Union countries adequately address the healthcare needs of adolescents in the area of sexual reproductive health and rights?

An exploratory survey on the state of training in adolescent medicine and health in 36 European countries

The Effectiveness of Sex Education Based on Mindfulness Training and Islamic Teachings in Improving Satisfaction with Sexual Identity Among Male Adolescents in Zahedan, Iran

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