Does grade level relate to school-based youth health center utilization among male youth? Quantitative findings from a mixed-methods study in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Background: Male adolescents underutilize youth health centers' (YHC) services despite facing a variety of significant health issues. The purpose of our study was to explore adolescent males' perceptions of health service needs, utilization of YHC services, and barriers and facilitators for such utilization as a function of school grade among a sample of males from rural Nova Scotia in Canada.

Methods: A 76-item self-completion survey was developed to obtain quantitative data on male students' use and perceptions of YHCs.