Opportunities to improve high-risk behavior screenings during well-child examinations.

Background: Nurse practitioners serve an essential role in the completion of age-appropriate adolescent high-risk behavior screenings including tobacco/nicotine, alcohol, illicit drug use, and sexual activity during well-child examinations (WCEs).

Local Problem: Midwestern adolescents demonstrate a suboptimal rate of engaging in annual preventative medical visits in comparison to national data.

Methods: This mixed-methods quality improvement pilot sought to evaluate health care providers' beliefs, general clinic processes, and the overall quality of WCEs among adolescents aged 11-17 years in two midwestern primary care clinics.