Abstract
Objective
To examine sources of information used by parents to facilitate parent-adolescent
communication about sexual and reproductive health (SRH), parents’ preferences for
receiving SRH information through primary care, and factors associated with parents’
interest in primary-care-based SRH information (ie, resources recommended or offered
in the primary care setting).
Methods
In this cross-sectional study, a nationally representative sample of 11–17-year-old
adolescents and their parents (n = 1005 dyads) were surveyed online; 993 were retained
for these analyses. Parents were asked about their use of 11 resources to help them
talk with their adolescents about SRH and rated the likelihood of using specific primary-care-based
resources. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine characteristics associated
with parent interest in primary-care-based SRH resources.
Results
Only 25.8% of parents reported receiving at least a moderate amount of SRH information
from primary care; half (53.3%) reported receiving no SRH information from their adolescent's
provider. Parents received the most information from personal connections (eg, spouse/partner,
friends). Most parents (59.1%) reported being likely to utilize a primary-care-based
resource for SRH information. Parents who previously received SRH information from
primary care sources had greater odds of reporting they would be likely to utilize
a primary-care-based resources (AOR = 4.06, 95% CI: 2.55–6.46).
Conclusions
This study provides insights into parents’ sources of information for communicating
with their adolescents about SRH and ways primary care practices might increase support
for parents in having SRH conversations with their adolescents. Future studies are
needed to establish clinical best practices for promoting parent-adolescent communication
about SRH.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: September 18, 2021
Accepted:
September 9,
2021
Received:
February 3,
2021
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest Disclosures: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
Copyright © 2021 by Academic Pediatric Association
