Abstract

AbstractThe Gainesville Youth Clinic was organized to meet a community need for medical care of nonuniversity youth and to provide experience in adolescent medicine to pediatric house officers. Demographic and clinical data were gathered in three studies spanning the first 15 months of operation. The clinic sees 2,200 patients (3,000 visits) annually; two thirds are girls, 98% are white, and 90% are 15 to 25 years old. The population was not predominantly transient; parental occupations were mostly professional or skilled. Educational level was consistent with age; one third of the patients are students at present. Genitourinary problems, principally venereal infection, account for nearly one third of all visits and suspected pregnancy or birth control another one fourth. The clinic experience has emphasized the youth cultural influences on health, increased the participants' insight into the emotional turmoil of adolescence, and has suggested a style and design for providing primary care to this population consistent with the academic objectives of a pediatric department.