Health care providers play an important role in providing accurate information to adolescents about sexual health issues, including prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). There has been limited research, however, on how to best provide effective discussions about sexual health with Asian-American adolescents in a culturally sensitive manner.
A new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Research identifies themes in Asian-American adolescents' attitudes/beliefs regarding how health care providers can be most helpful in communicating about sexual-health topics. Glenn Flores, MD, Distinguished Chair of Health Policy Research at the Medica Research Institute, served as senior author of the study.
In a series of interviews with 20 Asian-American adolescent participants, the researchers identified several key themes, including:
"Our study findings reveal that when communicating about sexual health with Asian-American adolescents, it may be most beneficial for health care providers to discuss confidentiality before initiating conversations about sexual health, abstinence, STIs, and pregnancy prevention," said Flores. "Our findings also indicate that Asian-American adolescents desire more communication and education regarding sexual-health topics with health care providers."
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