Study on morbidity and mortality pattern among adolescents and services provided by tertiary care Institutions in Sri Lanka

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