The article “School clinics help fill care gaps for teens” (News, Mar. 19), was right on the mark.
A school-based health center is one of the best ways to reach and serve young people.
A study by DePaul University researchers is further proof that school-based health centers work.
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health was led by psychologist LaVome Robinson.
It compared students at three Chicago high schools that have comprehensive health centers with students at four schools that do not.
The results were striking.
About half of all the students surveyed reported symptoms of depression.
Adolescent depression is linked to suicide, poor school performance, eating disorders and all manner of risky behaviors.
The good news is that school-based health centers, because of their easy accessibility and specially trained staff, can provide an excellent venue for treating depression.
The study also showed that 78 percent of all the students reported themselves as sexually experienced.
But sexually active female students at schools with health centers were more than twice as likely to use oral contraception as were their counterparts at schools without centers.
Finally, 11th grade students at schools with health centers also were found to have lower rates of tobacco and marijuana use than their counterparts at schools without centers.
The bottom line is that school-based health centers are a proven, effective way of reaching young people with comprehensive care that they might not otherwise receive.
Now is the time for Illinois to invest in expanding and further improving the quality of these successful efforts.
