“Treat Me Like a Normal Person!” A Meta-Ethnography of Adolescents' Expectations of Their Health Care Providers

Abstract

PurposePreventive health care services provide an important opportunity to assist adolescents to establish and maintain a healthy lifestyle and assume an increasing independent role in their health care. National guidelines emphasize the importance of an annual wellness visit to identify and address risk-behaviors that contribute significantly to the morbidity and mortality in this population. Despite these recommendations, adolescents utilize preventive health care at declining rates throughout adolescence. The purpose of this study was to capture a more holistic view of what adolescents, as consumers of health care services, expect from their primary health care providers (HCPs). MethodA metasynthesis of 12 qualitative research studies was conducted using Noblit and Hare's (1988) meta-ethnographic approach. ResultsFive overarching metaphors, Talk with Me- Not at Me, Accept Me, Respect My Privacy and Confidentiality, Show Me You Are a Professional, and A Trusted Relationship described adolescents' expectations of their HCPs. ConclusionsThis study provides a more holistic view of adolescents' expectations of their HCPs. Clinical strategies are suggested to assist HCPs to meet adolescents' expectations.