Sharma Anupam, Shankar Priya, Sharma Ricky, Krishna Nelabh, Jayakumar Nanditha, Nalawade Samruddhi, Doshi Avani, Nannapaneni Aruna, Krishnan Vandana, Danish Mohammed, Ahrens Kym, Golub Sarah, Dasgupta Rajib, Ravichandran Latha, Srikanth Padma, Premkumar Sarala, Nagata Jason M, Keswani Vaishali, Allen Isabel, Seaman Julia, Pemde Harish
Adolescent Health Champions (AHC).
Johns Hopkins University.
Res Sq. 2025 Aug 19:rs.3.rs-7093966. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7093966/v1.
Adolescents in urban India face significant challenges in accessing healthcare and reliable health information, particularly during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the role of trusted adults in shaping adolescent health remains underexplored.
This study examined healthcare access, health information exposure, and the influence of trusted adults among urban Indian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 790 adolescents aged 10-19 years across urban India during the second wave of COVID-19 (May-October 2021). The survey assessed mental health, healthcare access, sources of health information, and the presence of trusted adults. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine associations between trusted adults and key health (and related) outcomes, adjusting for age, gender, and type of school.
Most adolescents (85.3%) reported having a trusted adult. Adolescents with a trusted adult had significantly higher odds of accessing a healthcare provider (AOR = 1.98, = 0.001) and receiving information on mental health (AOR = 2.38, < 0.001), nutrition (AOR = 1.79, = 0.005), and COVID-19 (AOR = 1.91, = 0.003). The presence of a trusted adult was strongly associated with lower psychological distress during (AOR = 0.40, < 0.001) and before (AOR = 0.43, < 0.001) the pandemic. No significant association was found with telehealth use or access to sensitive health information such as sexual and reproductive health.
Trusted adults play a critical protective role in adolescent health by improving healthcare access and supporting mental wellbeing. Integrating trusted adult frameworks into adolescent health programs may help strengthen supportive environments across homes, schools, and communities.
印度城市地区的青少年在获取医疗保健服务和可靠的健康信息方面面临重大挑战，尤其是在诸如新冠疫情等危机期间。然而，值得信赖的成年人在塑造青少年健康方面的作用仍未得到充分探索。
本研究调查了新冠疫情期间印度城市青少年的医疗保健服务获取情况、健康信息接触情况以及值得信赖的成年人的影响。
在新冠疫情第二波期间（2021年5月至10月），对印度城市地区790名10至19岁的青少年进行了横断面在线调查。该调查评估了心理健康、医疗保健服务获取情况、健康信息来源以及值得信赖的成年人的存在情况。使用多变量逻辑回归模型来检验值得信赖的成年人与关键健康（及相关）结果之间的关联，并对年龄、性别和学校类型进行了调整。
大多数青少年（85.3%）报告称有值得信赖的成年人。有值得信赖的成年人的青少年获得医疗保健服务提供者帮助的几率显著更高（调整后比值比[AOR]=1.98，P=0.001），获得心理健康信息的几率也显著更高（AOR=2.38，P<0.001）、营养信息的几率（AOR=1.79，P=0.005）以及新冠疫情信息的几率（AOR=1.91，P=0.003）。在疫情期间（AOR=0.40，P<0.001）和疫情之前（AOR=0.43，P<0.001），有值得信赖的成年人与较低的心理困扰密切相关。未发现与远程医疗使用或获取性与生殖健康等敏感健康信息有显著关联。
值得信赖的成年人通过改善医疗保健服务获取情况和支持心理健康，在青少年健康中发挥着关键的保护作用。将值得信赖的成年人框架纳入青少年健康项目可能有助于加强家庭、学校和社区的支持性环境。
