Comparison of adolescent health care provided at a school-based clinic and at a hospital-based pediatric clinic.

Adolescents are an underserved population lacking adequate access to health care. School-based clinics have been promoted as one strategy to improve both access and care. We studied the degree to which such clinics provide services that either differ from or complement conventional health care service. Six categories of primary diagnoses were collected from adolescent visits to a high school clinic and from a nearby hospital-based pediatric clinic, both serving an indigent, predominantly Hispanic, inner-city community. Comparison of patterns of clinic utilization showed that the school-based clinic received significantly more visits for counseling and health care maintenance, while the pediatric clinic received more visits for acute and chronic illnesses. The school-based clinic appeared to improve access to health care for adolescents by allowing confidential visits for issues less easily addressed at more conventional health care sites.