Health Promotion in Clinical Consultations

This session will assist you in understanding the practical concepts relating to the promotion of health in adolescents in various settings.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Recognise opportunities for health promotion in clinical settings
• Explain the role of clinical consultations in promoting changes of behaviour
• Promote immunisation in clinical consultations, particularly the HPV vaccine
• Know the child and adolescent vaccine schedule for the UK
• List four practical approaches that can be adopted to implement changes in behaviour
• List four approaches to be avoided
• Assess motivation to change

Each and every clinical or personal encounter with a young person can, and should, be used as a potential health promotion opportunity. Approximately 70% of young people visit their GP each year; the research shows that health promotion given during general consultations is welcomed by teenagers.

The same is true for young people affected by long-term illness who are treated in paediatrics or adult services. Young people with long-term illnesses such as diabetes or asthma are more likely to smoke or drink than their healthy peers. It should be emphasised that paediatric services have a key role to play in delivering health promotion on topics such as substance use, contraception and safe sex.