Adolescent Health: Reflections on a Report to the U.S. Congress

The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) found that the conventional wisdom that American adolescents are so healthy that they do not require health and related services is not justified; U.S. adolescents often face formidable barriers to obtaining needed health care, and relatively little appropriate attention has been paid to adolescents by the federal government. OTA suggested that Congress could act to (a) increase adolescents' access to health care by supporting comprehensive health services specifically for adolescents, (b) restructure the federal role in adolescent health by creating an office of adolescent health in the U.S. Executive Branch, and (c) improve adolescents' social environments by providing more support to families of adolescents, limiting adolescents' access to firearms, supporting the expansion of their recreational opportunities, and further increasing opportunities for community service. Federal actions taken since OTA's report are summarized.