Disability in late adolescence. III: Utilization of health services.

Adolescent health service usage is a neglected research area. Data are important for planning of services and for prioritizing needs. A sample of 871 18-year-olds was surveyed about its use of health services in the preceding year. A significant proportion had made a consultation and were mostly satisfied with the service received. For a subsample of that cohort, who had a difficulty in their daily living, only a third had consulted a health professional for that difficulty over the past year. Help-seeking was related to the severity of that difficulty, particularly for the limitations that it imposed on everyday life. Some dissatisfactions with consultations were expressed in relation to expectations of the efficacy of treatment and to the communication of the health professionals.