Services provided by the adolescent health friendly clinics in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India: an overview

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a transitional phase of physical and psychological development and is characterized by emotional turmoil, anxiety, increase in risk taking behaviour and seeking comfort in peers rather than parents. Taking into account these factors, government has started certain programmes for welfare of adolescent youth, and here we aim to study various services provided to the adolescents, under adolescent health friendly clinic in Himachal which are started under National adolescent health programme. Methods: Adolescent data is obtained from public domain about the services and facilities provided to the adolescent girls and boys at various adolescent health friendly clinic established in various districts of Himachal Pradesh. The data is taken from January 2021 to December 2023 for 2 years. Results: In total of 103 adolescent health friendly clinic, 44% of adolescent received clinical services, 47% of adolescent received counselling services and 9% of the adolescent received referral to other departments to seek specialized care. Conclusions: During adolescence, individuals have unique health and rights requirements and with access to appropriate experiences and rights, individuals can pave the way for a brighter future and contribute significantly to the strength of their nation.