The role of general practice in promoting teenage health: a review of the literature

Background and methods. Teenagers are acknowledged to be at high risk of health-damaging behaviours including smoking, teenage pregnancy, and drug and alcohol use. Additionally, the recognition of high levels of psychological distress is cause for serious concern about teenage health. This paper reviews health promotion interventions for teenagers in general practice. Medline, BIDS, Psyclit and SIGLE databases for January 1990–February 1997 were systematically searched for English language studies on adolescent/teenage health and health promotion interventions in primary health care/general practice; reference sections of articles were checked for earlier work. Conclusions. The literature indicates that teenagers rarely receive health promotion advice from their physicians. The impact on behaviour change, of screening and health promotion for teenagers in general practice requires further evaluation to asssess the potential effectiveness in preventing the onset or continuation of health-damaging behaviours.