Adolescent Medicine

Research 

CHAM’s Division of Adolescent Medicine is committed to spearheading research on a wide range of medical and psychosocial problems that adolescents face.

We are currently conducting research on:

Long-Acting Reversible Contraception to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

The teen pregnancy rate in the Bronx is 70 percent higher than in the nation as a whole. To address this, our team has established a long-acting reversible contraception service at CHAM that provides and studies long-acting reversible contraception methods, including dermal implants and intrauterine contraception. We studied the use of effective contraception by adolescent girls for six months and found that intrauterine contraception, the IUD, was significantly less likely to be discontinued at six months compared with the “pill,” “shot,” “patch,” or “ring” methods of hormonal contraception.

We are partnering with several other leading institutions to build a database and further study long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) use in adolescents. We are also currently working on a quality improvement project to improve LARC insertion rates for adolescents.  We are forming interventions to address barriers affecting LARC uptake on the first LARC clinic visit. 

Improving the Health of Patients with HIV/AIDS

The Adolescent AIDS Program (AAP) at CHAM aims to improve local, national and global responses to HIV/AIDS among youth through innovative medical care, research, training, advocacy and community mobilization. We offer a variety of research studies to patients—ranging from the latest in HIV medication clinical trials to studies gathering information on the medical and psychosocial issues for youth living with or at risk for HIV.

One of 14 locations across the United States chosen to participate in the National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded Adolescent Trials Network for HIV/AIDS interventions, our program recently expanded its research opportunities to HIV-negative youth with studies on HIV prevention and testing.

Improving the Health of Obese Teens

CHAM adolescent medicine physicians work with severely obese teens and their families through the B’N Fit clinical service to help with weight management and healthy lifestyle behaviors. Evaluation of the B’N Fit participants, after six months, indicated significant decreases in rates of weight gain and increases in fruit and vegetable consumption. Participants also increased their level of vigorous physical activity.

We are currently evaluating a school-based intervention to promote resilience and prevent diabetes for youth attending PS/MS-95. B’N Fit POWER is a wellness program that integrates existing school wellness promotion activities, the Montefiore School Health Program (MSHP) – a network of school-based health clinics, and the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC) – a network of afterschool programming, to promote health and build on the resilience of the adolescents. The translation of a traditional clinical-based weight-loss intervention to adapting and implementing such an intervention in a real-world school setting is more relevant and sustainable for advancing a culture of health and promoting diabetes risk reduction in Bronx youth.

Improving Resident Education in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology

In collaboration with educators at the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, CHAM researchers have worked to develop novel curricula for directed resident education in the cross-specialty field of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. A reading curriculum was published and widely distributed across Pediatric and Obstetrics and Gynecology residency training programs. Additionally, the group has published on the development and distribution process itself as it brings together educators across several fields and takes novel approaches to learning.  Furthermore, CHAM researchers have participated in prospectively testing the curriculum at both Pediatric and Obstetrics and Gynecology residency training programs. Beyond, reading assignments, CHAM researchers are working on creating and testing web-based interactive teaching modules and video simulations as well in training students, residents and fellows in PAG.