Teen Drug Use in Primary Care

 

Prevalence of positive substance abuse screen results among adolescent primary care patients

Objectives; To measure the prevalence of positive substance use screen results among adolescent primary care patients and to estimate the prevalence of substance-related problems and disorders.

Results; Overall, 14.8% of adolescents had positive results on the CRAFFT screen.

Prevalence rates differed significantly across practices (P < .001) after adjusting for demographic factors.

The highest positive rates on the CRAFFT screen were at

• School-based health centers (29.5%) and
• Rural family practice (24.2%),
• Middle rate was at the adolescent clinic (16.6%), and
• Lowest rates were at the health maintenance organization (14.1%) and
• Pediatric clinic (8.0%).
• Sick visits had the highest rate (23.2%).
• Well-child care visits had a significantly lower rate (11.4%, P < .001).

Statistical modeling estimated that 11.3% of all patients had problematic use,

• 7.1% had abuse, and
• 3.2% had dependence.

Conclusion; Substance abuse screening should occur whenever the opportunity arises, not at well-child care visits only.

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(11):1035-1041.

Teens Under the Influence: The Truth About Kids, Alcohol, and Other Drugs- How to Recognize the Problem and What to Do About It by Katherine Ketcham Read more about this title…

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