Programs must provide comprehensive coordinated care. Whenever possible, this care should be available at a single site. When multiple sites are required, the adolescent patient should be taught how to navigate the system with increasing autonomy. The health care needs of adolescents differ from those of children and adults. Adolescent care involves health promotion, illness and injury prevention, and the establishment of good health habits.
Prevention requires education, skill, and foresight.
Access to health care is important to help modify adolescent risk behaviors and promote healthy habits. Despite the perception that adolescence is a time of good health, the U.S. Congress' Office of Technology Assessment estimates that one in five adolescents suffers from at least one serious health problem. Alcohol use contributes to motor vehicle injury, and increases the likelihood of subsequent drug use, violence, and high-risk sexual behavior. Nearly 1 million teens become pregnant each year. Most adolescent mortality and morbidity is preventable, but attempts to intervene have met with limited success.