Clinical Care Guidelines


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Prevention
Contraception
Abortion
Healthy Pregnancy


Prevention


Prevention of Pregnancy in Adolescents 12–17 years
Michigan Quality Improvement Consortium, 2012
This guideline covers counseling, prevention, and risk assessment for unintended pregnancy in adolescents 12–17 years old. Its objective is to achieve significant, measurable improvements through the development and implementation of common evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.

Prevention of Unintended Pregnancy in Adults 18 years and Older
Michigan Quality Improvement Consortium, 2013
This guideline covers counseling, prevention, and risk assessment for unintended pregnancy in males and females 18 years and older. Its objective is to achieve significant, measurable improvements through the development and implementation of common evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.


Contraception


Condom Use by Adolescents
American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013
This policy statement was developed to assist the pediatrician in understanding and supporting the use of condoms by their patients to prevent unintended pregnancies and STIs and address barriers to their use.

Contraception for Adolescents
American Academy of Pediatrics, 2014
This policy statement recommends that pediatricians develop a working knowledge of contraception to help adolescents reduce risks of and negative health consequences related to unintended pregnancy. It provides the pediatrician with a description and rationale for best practices in counseling and prescribing contraception for adolescents. It is supported by an accompanying technical report.

U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations (U.S. SPR) for Contraceptive Use
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013
These recommendations address a select group of common issues regarding initiation and use of specific contraceptive methods, for persons of all ages, including adolescents.  Adolescents are identified in this document as a special population that might benefit from more frequent follow-up. These recommendations are a companion document to the CDC recommendations United States Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use, 2010.  

Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use
World Health Organization, 2010
This document reviews the medical eligibility criteria for use of contraception, offering guidance on the safety of use of different methods for women and men with specific characteristics or known medical conditions. It is a companion guideline to the Selected practice recommendations for contraceptive use. (See page 12 of the publication for a general statement on adolescents.)

Adolescents and Long-Acting Reversible Contraception: Implants and Intrauterine Devices
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2012
This Committee Opinion (No. 539) recommends adolescents be encouraged to consider LARCs when choosing a contraceptive method. IUDs and the contraceptive implant are the best reversible methods for preventing unintended pregnancy, rapid repeat pregnancy, and abortion in young women.

Emergency Contraception
American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012
This policy statement supports the provision of emergency contraception to adolescents and provides guidance to adolescent health care providers on its prescription in advance of need in addition to routine counseling. A recent addendum has also been published.

Provision of Emergency Contraception to Adolescents: Position Paper of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, 2004
The prevention of unintended adolescent pregnancy requires a multifaceted approach that includes primary and secondary prevention methods. Adequate information about and access to emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) are essential components of secondary prevention efforts. This paper outlines SAHM’s position on the provision of ECPs as well as ECP accessibility and advocacy.

Program Guidelines for Project Grants for Family Planning Services: Adolescent Services
Office of Population Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001
These guidelines were developed to assist current and prospective grantees in understanding and utilizing the family planning services grants program authorized by Title X of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 300, et seq. It interprets the law and regulations in operational terms. A separate clarification regarding confidential services for adolescents has recently been released as well. (See Section 8.7 on guidance for adolescent services).


Abortion


Counseling the Adolescent about Pregnancy Options
American Academy of Pediatrics, 1998/Reaffirmed 2006
When consulted by a pregnant adolescent, pediatricians should be able to help the adolescent understand her options and act on her decision to continue or terminate her pregnancy. Pediatricians may not impose their values on the decision-making process and should be prepared to support the adolescent in her decision or refer her to a physician who can.

The Adolescent’s Right to Confidential Care When Considering Abortion
American Academy of Pediatrics, 1996
This statement reaffirms the rights of adolescents to confidential care when considering abortion should be protected. The AAP acknowledges and respects the diversity of beliefs about abortion and affirms the value of voluntary parental involvement in decision making by adolescents.

Medical Management of First-Trimester Abortion
Society of Family Planning, 2014
Over the past three decades, medical methods of abortion have been developed throughout the world and are now a standard method of providing abortion care in the U.S. This document presents evidence of the effectiveness, benefits, and risks of first-trimester medical abortion and provides a framework for counseling women who are considering medical abortion.

Cervical Preparation for Second-Trimester Surgical Abortion Prior to 20 Weeks’ Gestation
Society of Family Planning, 2014
For a dilation and evacuation (D&E) procedure, preoperative preparation of the cervix reduces the risk of cervical laceration and uterine perforation. These guidelines recommend preoperative cervical preparation to decrease the risk of complications when performing a D&E.


Healthy Pregnancy


Care of Adolescent Parents and Their Children
American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012
This clinical report updates a previous policy statement on care of the adolescent parent and their children and addresses medical and psychosocial risks specific to this population. Challenges unique to teen parents and their children are reviewed, along with suggestions for the pediatrician on models for intervention and care.



 
The goal of the AHRQ-funded project, Youth Providers 2.0 (YP2.0), is to improve the use of evidence-based practices among health care providers caring for adolescents and young adults. To accomplish this goal, SAHM will engage in a number of activities using new media to improve the dissemination of patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) to health professionals.