Health needs of adolescents : report of a WHO expert committee, meeting held in Geneva from 28 September to 4 October 1976

1. Introduction -- 2. Some basic physiological and psychosocial needs -- 3. Health probelems and their magnitude -- 4. Factors affecting physical and psychosocial health -- 5. Special health needs of adolescents -- 6. Health care of adolescents -- 7. Education and training -- 8. Emerging concepts and perspectives -- 9. Recommendations -- Annexes.

An expert assessment of findings from biological, behavioural, clinical, and epidemiological research that help explain why adolescent health is vulnerable to a distinctive set of risks. Sensitive to the stress of adolescent transitions, the report gives particular attention to the bio-medical and psychosocial dilemmas created when rapid industrialization and urbanization disrupt traditional supports, complicate human relationships, and undermine personal security. The report opens with a discussion of the basic physiological, biological, and of morbidity in different countries are then presented and compared. Other sections enumerate the individual and environmental factors that contribute to health risks, including accidents and suicide, and outline preventive and management strategies for 13 common problems, ranging from truancy and delinquency to sexually transmitted diseases. The report concludes with examples of innovative services and programmes that are notably responsive to adolescent needs.