TI   "Skills for Teen Assessment Unique but Not Complex"
 AU   Sadownick, Doug
 SO   AIDS Alert (12/93) Vol. 8, No. 12, P. 184
 AB   As the AIDS epidemic spreads among young people, health care workers
      must learn the unique skills necessary for successful assessment and
      risk reduction, says the nation's top expert in adolescent AIDS. 
      Acquiring these skills, according to Dr. Karen Hein, director of the
      AIDS adolescent program at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York,
      is not difficult.  They are, however, specific to adolescents and
      very necessary if health care workers are to help teens evaluate
      their risks and modify their behaviors.  Because of the unique
      psychological and social features of adolescents, agrees Kim Miller,
      a research sociologist at the Centers for Disease Control, health
      care workers need to go the extra mile.  "Handing them a pamphlet
      just won't work," she claims, "because they're not going to read it."
      Health care workers must also realize that certain other messages
      will not be effective with adolescent patients.  For example,
      successful risk reduction requires a basic understanding of how HIV
      is transmitted, including the risk levels of different sexual
      behaviors.  But some popular messages, such as abstinence, monogamy,
      and questioning partners about high-risk behaviors are simply
      unrealistic when applied to some adolescents, as are messages that
      attempt to induce fear.  When handling the vulnerability and
      sensitivity that characterizes adolescence, health care workers
      should make teens feel welcome.  In fact, establishing a rapport is
      critical, and avoiding a judgmental attitude is crucial.  "Watch out
      for a tendency to blame adolescents, saying they are noncompliant,"
      warns Miller.  "A judgmental attitude in a provider will scare them
      away."

      Copyright (c) 1993 - Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD.  This
      information is provided by the Centers for Disease Control &
      Prevention (CDC), National AIDS Clearinghouse as a public service. 
      Non-profit reproduction is encouraged.

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