PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Klein, Douglas
AU  - Wild, T Cameron
AU  - Cave, Andrew
TI  - Understanding why adolescents decide to visit family physicians: qualitative study.
DP  - 2005 Dec 01
TA  - Canadian Family Physician
PG  - 1660--1661
VI  - 51
IP  - 12
4099  - http://www.cfp.ca/content/51/12/1660.short
4100  - http://www.cfp.ca/content/51/12/1660.full
SO  - Can Fam Physician2005 Dec 01; 51
AB  - OBJECTIVE To understand why Canadian adolescents go or do not go to see family physicians for annual checkups using the Theory of Planned Behavior as a conceptual framework. DESIGN Qualitative analysis of small group discussions. SETTING Edmonton, Alta, a large Canadian city. PARTICIPANTS Seventeen adolescents (6 male, 11 female) recruited from a medical clinic and an organized youth group. METHOD Two small group discussions and one validation focus group were held. A combination of category coding and thematic analysis was used to analyze the data transcribed. MAIN FINDINGS Adolescents reported that regular checkups, although uncomfortable, are a good idea. They also reported that going to a family doctor for a checkup is out of their control because of numerous barriers (eg, lack of time, not knowing how to set it up, or lack of transportation). Participants thought their parents' opinions on going for routine checkups were more important than the opinions of their peers. CONCLUSION Family physicians should recognize adolescents' attitudes toward visiting family physicians' offices and understand the potential barriers adolescents face in coming in for checkups in order to make visits to their offices more comfortable and beneficial.