Primary Care of Adolescent Girls

This practical how-to book provides the answers needed in caring for young girls and women ages 10 to 20 in a clinical setting. The differences between caring for adolescent girls ascompared to boys, younger children, and adult women is emphasized along with the importance of sexuality-related health care and how best to deliver that care. The text is divided into three sections. The first, entitled The Adolescent Girl as a Patient contains three chapters outlining physical and psychosocial development of early, middle, and late adolescent girls and special considerations for the health care visit at each of these three stages of adolescence. Two additional chapters focus on body image and sexual development, important areas in the diagnosis and treatment of many differenthealth problems of girls in this age group. The second section, The Patient-Provider-Parent Relationship, contains two thoughtful chapters by experiencedpractitioners addressing the special issues faced by male versus female clinicians caring for adolescent girls. Also in this section are importantchapters addressing the management of confidentiality and legal and ethical considerations for providing health care to adolescents. The third and final section entitled Primary Care contains 17 chapters covering common conditionsencountered in the clinical or office setting, including the preparticipation sports examination, contraceptive counseling, depression and suicide, breast and menstrual disorders, eating disorders, abdominal pain, sexual assault, and others. Dr. Coupey is a well-known expert in the field of adolescent medicine and pediatrics The text is interspersed with lists of key points, figures, and/or diagrams Concise coverage is given for common problems presented in a clinical setting, including preventive screening, sports physicals, weight concerns, menstrual disorders, mental health, dermatologic conditions, contraception, and much more.