Nurse Practitioners and Adolescents: Productive Discussions About High-Risk Behaviors

Increasing the frequency and quality of conversations with adolescents about potentially sensitive topics is central to providing quality care. The project's aim was to assess whether providers were implementing strategies such as providing privacy and/or using both acute and preventative care visits as opportunities for discussions with success measured by the frequency of topics discussed. Conversations occurred infrequently regardless of the reason for the visit, and privacy occurred in less than 50% of patient encounters. However, when the strategies were implemented, the frequency of conversations increased. Nurse practitioners can improve the possibility that sensitive conversations will occur by implementing simple strategies. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.