School-based clinics: a response to the physical and mental health needs of adolescents.
School-based clinics staffed by an interdisciplinary team of health care professionals, including social workers, are among the pioneering efforts that address both the health and education needs of adolescents. Initial research and publications about this concept of health care service delivery have focused on the area of reproductive health; however, it is necessary to broaden the knowledge base by examining the range of problems experienced by students using the clinics. To provide data on this issue, a study was conducted in four school-based health clinics in a large midwestern city. The results of this study document the use of the clinic for multiple issues and provide statistical support for the clinical impressions of the staff that students, despite their stated reason for visiting the clinic, were equally likely to have other physical and mental health problems.