P01-186 - Perception of Adolescents’ Risk Behaviours by the Medical Staff

Abstract

The objective of this work was to study the perception of the adolescents’ risk behaviours, in the arabo-islamic context, by a hundred of medical and paramedic staff.

Fifty doctors and fifty paramedics who have at least one adolescent child participated in the study. They have filled in an auto-questionnaire in an anonymous way, consisting of 6 items related to the general profile of the participants and another 10 relative to the aspects that seemed to us the most pertinent ones concerning adolescents’ risk behaviours.

The answers of the participants enabled us to index the items in three groups:

1. - Items with a high frequency of correct answers, independently of the educational level, referring to the unprotected sexual relations, the drug consumption, the dangerous moped driving, spending much time on internet and the excess of preoccupations to his weight.

2. - Items with high frequency of incorrect answers independently of the educational level, referring to the fact that the teenager smokes and consumes alcoholic drinks or drug alone.

3. - Items with a rate of correct answers significantly lower with paramedics than with doctors (p< 0.001) referring to the occasional consumption of alcoholic drinks.

The answers of medical staff investigating were frequently in unconformity with scientific data, with many prejudiced ideas, reflecting the impact of the taboo related to the arabo-islamic culture what encourages us to suggest recommendations aiming to sensitize paramedical staff as well as the general public to the particularities of adolescence.