Health care of adolescent males: Overview, rationale, and recommendations

The medical and psychosocial needs of adolescent males often become lost amid the competing health priorities for other populations. Using the objectives identified in Healthy People 2010, it is clear that young males have significant health issues that need the attention of the medical and public health communities. Health care utilization declines as males progress from late childhood to young adulthood. Reasons for these changes, and for the poor utilization of chronic and preventive care, can be understood within a framework that identifies a combination of predisposing, enabling, and need factors. Clinicians, through their roles as direct service providers, managers of services within their health care system, or advocates within the community or organized medicine can have a significant impact on health services for adolescent males.