The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
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Adolescents frequently rely on emergency medical care, rather than using primary care providers (PCPs). Our objectives were to characterize a population of adolescents presenting to a large, urban emergency department (ED) and to examine the reasons why they present to the ED, rather than to their PCP's office. ⋯ Many adolescents in this study were triaged as nonurgent, with several participants perceiving they were acutely ill requiring immediate physician care. Further analyses revealed that private insurance was significantly associated with urgent triage status. Future studies could educate adolescents and families about appropriate use of the ED or examine PCP offices directly to determine practices for phone triage and ED referrals of adolescents.
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The objective of this longitudinal study was to assess the prevalence of medical use, medical misuse, and non-medical use of opioid medication among adolescents who participate in organized sports. ⋯ The results of this study indicate that adolescent males who participate in sports may have greater access to opioid medication, which puts them at greater risk to misuse these controlled substances.
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Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening in health care settings including emergency departments (EDs) is recommended for adolescents in the United States. This study aimed to evaluate the acceptance of and the factors affecting the HIV screening in pediatric EDs. ⋯ The patient's age and the presence of a guardian were significantly associated with adolescents' decision and reasons to opt out of HIV screening in pediatric EDs. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the interventions needed to increase routine ED HIV screening in adolescents.
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This study compared data from 32 countries to assess predictors and patterns of cigarette and smokeless tobacco (SLT) use among students aged 13-15 years old. ⋯ Region-specific patterns of tobacco use were noticed. Furthermore, it is alarming that in several low- and middle-income countries, the prevalence of SLT use among females did not differ from that among males, suggesting the possibility of a future shared burden of disease between both males and females.
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Although several social network studies have demonstrated peer influence effects on adolescent substance use, findings for marijuana use have been equivocal. This study examines whether structural features of friendships moderate friends' influence on adolescent marijuana use over time. ⋯ Friends' influence on youth marijuana use may play out in different ways, depending on the school context. In one school, influence occurred predominantly within reciprocated relationships that are likely characterized by closeness and trust, whereas in the other school adopting friends' drug use behaviors appeared to be a strategy to attain social status. Further research is needed to better understand the conditions under which structural features of friendships moderate friends' influence on adolescent marijuana use.