Abstract
Objective
Preventive health services are underutilized by US adolescents, especially those from
low-income populations. School-based health centers (SBHCs) have been endorsed as
primary medical homes for adolescents. This study was undertaken to determine how
adolescent SBHC users and their parents perceive SBHCs, particularly whether SBHCs
fulfill each of the elements of a medical home as defined by the American Academy
of Pediatrics.
Methods
Middle and high school adolescents who had been enrolled in a SBHC in a major metropolitan
school district for a minimum of 1 year were interviewed about their perceptions of
and experiences with SBHCs. English- and Spanish-speaking parents of SBHC-enrolled
adolescents also participated in focus groups on this topic.
Results
Four focus groups with parents (n = 30) and 62 interviews with adolescents were completed.
Both adolescents and parents indicated satisfaction with the quality and utilization
of SBHC services, reporting that SBHCs were highly accessible and family centered.
Many students preferred to access care at their SBHC instead of their primary care
practice because of the convenience, perceived trustworthiness, compassion, and high
quality of care at the SBHC. A few parents reported unmet medical needs from their
adolescent's SBHC, and some differences emerged between English- and Spanish-speaking
parents.
Conclusions
Adolescents' and parents' perceptions of care received at these SBHCs are consistent
with features of the medical home model. These findings suggest that SBHCs can provide
coordinated, compassionate care to students in a large, urban school system and may
be perceived as more accessible than traditional primary care settings.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 29, 2015
Accepted:
June 1,
2015
Received:
October 9,
2014
Footnotes
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Academic Pediatric Association.
