Abstract:
Adolescence is the transition period of persons from childhood to adulthood and this age
group is 10-19 years. With this process, they meet various external factors affecting their
growth and their development. Hence, it is very important to identify their problems and
their needs correctly. As very little is known about the morbidity and mortality pattern as
well as the services rendered for the adolescents especially in Sri Lanka, a hospital based
descriptive, cross sectional study was done. Adolescent admissions from Colombo district to
the National Hospital Sri Lanka during the first quarter of the year 2003 were studied
through a pre designed, pre tested medical record form to identify the morbidity and the
mortality pattern by scrutinizing their Bed Head Tickets retuned to the hospital medical
record room .also, pre designed, pre tested, pre coded two different questionnaires were
used to collect the necessary information from the adolescents of Colombo district who
attended the Out Patient Department, Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila and from the medical
officers, nursing officers and minor staff serving in randomly selected sections of the
Hospital to assess the attitudes about the service provision by the hospital. As the final
diagnosis could not be ascertained, tl1e presenting complaint was used to identify the
morbidities among the adolescents and categorized the complaints according to l.CD. 10th
revision. Most illnesses were due to symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory
findings not elsewhere classified, mostly due to fever, followed by Injury, poisoning and
certain other consequences of external causes which were mostly due to accidents and
poisoning. The prevalence of adolescent deaths was 3.5 per 1000 adolescent admissions to
the NHSL during the first quarter of the year 2003. Nearly 15 percent of the adolescents
who were admitted the N.H.S.L. had left the ward before discharge and about 60 percent of
the attendance at the O.P.D. T.H.C.S. Kalubowila had been discharged without giving an
appointment to review. Over 70 percent of adolescents were satisfied with the service
provision though about 40 percent were not satisfied witl1 the available facilities while 1/3
rd were not satisfied with consultation time. Over 90 percent of Health care workers were
aware of the adolescent health problems and tl1eir needs. Almost all adolescents and the
health care workers suggested the need of a special place for consultation/examination
