Communication is Key! Helping Parents Access/Find Resources to Talk about Sexual Health with Teens
It’s a subject that leaves many parents wondering what to say: talking to their adolescents about sexual and reproductive health. Parents know these conversations are a critical resource for their adolescents, but many approach these chats feeling underequipped. Many struggle to find resources to help prepare them for these discussions.
PRC researchers Christopher Mehus, Janna Gewirtz O’Brien, Renee Sieving, and colleagues recently published a study in Academic Pediatrics aimed at identifying the sources of information (and contexts for those sources) that parents use to inform their communications about sexual and reproductive health (SRH). The research team first identified sources parents used for SRH information, e.g., personal experiences, spouses/partners, friends, and online resources. They then gauged parents’ preferences and interest in receiving SRH information through primary care providers or facilities, as well as factors associated with parents’ interest in primary-care-based SRH resources (i.e., resources recommended or offered in the primary care setting).
Results from this nationally representative study of U.S. adolescents aged 11-17-years-old and their parents showed that parents want to receive SRH information from primary-care-based resources. Although parents received most of their information from personal connections, like their partner or friends, over half (59%) reported being likely to utilize primary-care-based SRH resources.
Study results also suggest that there are unmet opportunities within primary care to promote healthy parent-adolescent SRH communication, and that nearly three in five parents would be likely to utilize primary-care-based resources for information related to adolescent SRH topics.
“Clinics can support parents by providing medically accurate, trustworthy, and easy to understand resources related to SRH,” said Mehus. “Providing resources to parents in primary care settings can empower parents to take an active role in facilitating SRH conversations with their adolescents at home and at healthcare appointments.”
Providing trustworthy resources may have an impact beyond an individual patient. “Since parents are likely to share information with close friends, spouses/partners, and other trusted individuals, resources that are viewed as reliable (and easy to access) may be shared more widely and openly,” said Mehus. “It may also encourage other parents to inquire about the resources their primary care providers have about SRH topics.”
Mehus and team are working to create SRH resources that providers can share with parents and adolescents during clinic visits. Parents can also find SRH resources online via sources such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Amaze.