Endocrine Abstracts

In spite of the first adolescent health clinic being established in Stanford in 1918, it is only in the last decade that specific national standards, professional societies and training in adolescent health have been developed and established in the UK. Over this time, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the health of young people a global health priority, concerned both by the growing burden of adolescent morbidity and mortality and the importance of adolescence for lifetime health. Adolescents are a group for whom improvements in outcomes have not matched those seen among other age groups, even in high income countries. Whereas the positive benefits of investment in the early years are no longer in doubt, investment in young people’s health is called for in order to consolidate such success. This is particularly pertinent in view of the increasing awareness of the adolescent predictors of adult health. Young person friendly health service provision in the UK is not yet universal. Current evidence provides a useful framework for the development of such services irrespective of setting. Important components of this framework include developmentally appropriate environments, health outcomes as well as such aspects as staff attitude, communication, medical competency, accessibility, guideline driven care and youth involvement. With the knowledge that brain development extends into the third decade, there is also growing interest in the potential benefits of adolescent and young adult (AYA) health care, as already modelled by disciplines such as oncology. This is a key area for effective advocacy from both paediatric and adult health care professionals. This presentation will aim to present the current state of play of adolescent health care provision in the UK in 2014 and the importance of taking a life course approach in future research and service development.