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Doctor Visits Offer ‘Reality Check-ups’ for Teens

Important Questions Your Physician Should Be Asking

Parents of teenagers can relax – a little – when it comes to worrying about their child’s health and safety. There is someone else who shares your concerns and is doing something about it: your child’s doctor.

The World Health Organization has asked that the health of young people be a global priority so that teenagers can develop good lifetime health habits and live long lives. The annual check-up, or even an emergency visit, is an opportunity for doctors to ask teenagers about a variety of risky behaviors or concerns.

The check-up can provide a reality check on whether or not a teenager is making safe and healthy choices, says an expert from Spectrum Health.

“We know that some teenagers don’t share important health and safety information about their lives with their parents. If teenagers understand that their privacy is protected – and that it is in their best interest – they tend to open up to their doctors,” said Eugene Shatz, MD, an adolescent medicine specialist at Spectrum Health’s Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. “Parents need to trust that the physician will ask the kinds of questions that will, hopefully, protect their child.”

Physicians know how to appropriately encourage their teen patients to confide in them.

“The hardest part is for parents to trust their physician enough to leave the room so that this conversation can take place,” said Shatz. He suggests that parents might need to be proactive in giving their child a few minutes to talk privately with the doctor and excuse themselves from the examination room.

“Understandably, parents and guardians want to be informed about their child’s health concerns. However, unless a teenager believes that he or she is in a safe setting, important truths about lifestyle choices and environment may not be shared with the physician,” he warns. “Parents need to seriously consider the real goal here – a safe and healthy child.”

Physicians are equipped to ask key questions that could flag potential physical, social or mental health concerns. The length and nature of the visit would dictate the depth of the questions, said Shatz.

Questions to teens should be carefully framed to potentially identify areas of concern. “It’s best not to ask yes or no questions. Those are great for questionnaires, but not for a face-to-face conversation when you are trying to gauge what is really going on,” he adds.

For example:

• When do you go to bed/wake up? (adequate sleep)
• Have you ever witnessed bullying at your school? (social connections)
• What are your favorite things to do with your friends? (social connections)
• What are your favorite foods? (healthy eating)
• What are your favorite video games/movies? (exposure to violence)
• How much time do you spend on the computer/phone/smartphone? (social connections)
• What do you like best about yourself? What would you most like to change about yourself? (self-image)
• What rules do you have for driving? (cell phone use, texting, seat belt use, speeding)
• Many kids your age have sexual feelings toward other people. Do you have friends who are having sex? What do you think being sexually active means? (safe sex)
• Where is your favorite place to be and why? (mental well-being)
• What makes you happiest? (mental well-being)
• What worries you the most? (mental well-being)

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan offering a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, which is comprised of nine hospitals including Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, a state of the art children’s hospital that opened in January 2011, and 140 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group and West Michigan Heart, physician groups totaling more than 700 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with 600,000 members. Spectrum Health is West Michigan’s largest employer with 19,000 employees. The organization provided $204 million in community benefit during its 2012 fiscal year.