What to expect during a 21-Year-Old Physical?

DEVELOPMENTAL SURVEILLANCE

  • Forms caring and supportive relationships
  • Engages in a positive way with the life of the community 
  • Engages in behaviors that optimize wellness and contribute to a healthy lifestyle 
  • Demonstrates competencies
    • Physical
    • Cognitive 
    • Emotional
    • Social
    • Moral
  • Exhibits compassion and empathy
  • Exhibits resiliency when confronted with life stressors
  • Uses independent decision-making skills
  • Displays:
    • Self-confidence 
    • Hopefulness
    • Well-being

DEVELOPMENTAL/BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

  • 1 Psychosocial/Behavioral Assessment
  • Tobacco, Alcohol, or Drug Use Assessment*
  • Depression Screening

2 PHYSICAL EXAMINATION

  • History
    • Initial/Interval
  • Measurements
    • Length/Height and Weight
    • 3 Body Mass Index
    • 4 Blood Pressure.
  • Sensory Screening
    • 5 Vision*
    • Hearing
    • 18 Years Thru 21 Years
  • 6 Procedures
    • 7 Anemia*
    • 8 Tuberculosis*
    • 9 Dyslipidemia
    • 17 Years Thru 21 Years
    • 10 Sexually Transmitted Infections*
    • 11 HIV*
    • Cervical Dysplasia

21-Year-Old Anticipatory Guidance

Social determinants of health

 Risks (interpersonal violence, living situation, food security, family substance use)

 Strengths and Protective Factors (connectedness with family and peers, connectedness with community, school performance, coping with stress and decision-making)

  • Learn to manage conflict nonviolently; walk away if necessary. Avoid risky situations; if you can, leave a violent relationship.
  • You can also call the National Domestic Violence Hotline toll-free at 800-799-SAFE (7233).
  • Community agencies can help you with concerns about your living situation. Tell me about your living situation.
  • Within the past 12 months, were you ever worried whether your food would run out before you got money to buy more? Within the past 12 months, did the food you bought not last and you did not have money to get more?
    • Programs like SNAP are available to help you if you have concerns about your food situation. 
  • Don’t use tobacco/e-cigarettes; talk with me if you are worried about a family member’s drug/alcohol use.
  • Stay connected with your family; get involved in activities that interest you.
  • Take responsibility for school, and work obligations.
  • Find ways to deal with stress; talk with parents/ trusted adult.

Physical health and health promotion

◊ Oral Health ◊ Body Image ◊ Healthy Eating ◊ Physical Activity and Sleep

◊ Transition to Adult Health Care Brush Teeth Twice a Day; floss once.

  • Brush teeth twice a day; floss once.
  • See a dentist twice a year.
  • Figure out the healthy eating/physical activity combination that will keep your body strong and healthy.
  • Eat when you’re hungry; stop when you’re satisfied.
  • Eat breakfast; eat vegetables/fruits/whole grains/ lean protein; have 24 oz or more low-fat/nonfat dairy/another dairy daily.
  • Limit foods and drinks high in sugar/saturated fats/refined grains and low in nutrients.
  • Drink water.
  • Be physically active for 60 minutes a day.
  • Use safety equipment during sports.
  • Get enough sleep.
  • Let’s discuss how you can manage your health care as an adult.
  • Women: Consume foods rich in folate; avoid alcohol/tobacco/drugs if considering pregnancy.

Emotional well-being

◊ Mood Regulation ◊ Mental Health ◊ Sexuality

  • Have you been feeling bored, sad, or irritable all the time? Do you ever feel so upset that you wished you were not alive or that you wanted to die?
    • Recognize that hard times come and go; talk with parents/trusted adults.
  • Are you sexually attracted to males, females, or both?
  • Do you have any questions or concerns about your gender identity, meaning your identity as a male or female?
  • What are your plans and values about relationships, sex, future family, and marriage?
    • Get accurate information about sexuality and sexual feelings toward the opposite or same sex; talk with me/parents/trusted adults.

Risk reduction

◊ Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Infections ◊ Tobacco

◊ E-cigarettes ◊ Alcohol ◊ Prescription or Street Drugs ◊ Acoustic Trauma

  • Don’t smoke/vape, drink alcohol, or use drugs; avoid situations with drugs/alcohol; don’t share your own or others’ prescription medications; support friends who don’t use; talk with me if concerned about family member’s use.
  • Are you now in a romantic relationship? Have any of your relationships been sexual relationships?
  • Have you ever been touched in a way that made you feel uncomfortable?
  • Have you ever been pressured to do something sexual?
  • If sexually active: Were your partners male or female, or have you had both male and female partners?
  • Were your partners younger, older, or your age? Have you had oral sex? Vaginal sex? Anal sex?
  • Did you use other birth control instead of, or along with, a condom? Are you aware of emergency contraception?
    • If sexually active, protect against STIs/ pregnancy by correctly/consistently using long-acting reversible contraception, such as IUD/contraceptive implant, or using birth control pills. Use a condom. Consider having emergency contraception available. 
  • Wear hearing protection when exposed to loud noise (concerts, lawn mowing). Keep earbud volume moderate.

Safety 

◊ Seat Belt ◊ Helmet Use ◊ Driving ◊ Substance Use ◊ Sun Protection ◊ Firearm Safety

  • Wear a seat belt; don’t talk/text/use a mobile device when driving.
  • Don’t drive after using alcohol/drugs; don’t drive with someone who has been using alcohol/drugs.
  • Use sunscreen; wear a hat; avoid the sun when it is strongest, between 11:00 am and 3:00 pm; avoid tanning parlors.
  • Do you ever carry a firearm or other weapon?
  • Remove firearms from home; if firearm necessary, store unloaded and locked, with ammunition locked separately.

Goals For 21-Year Checkup:

  • Be gentle and patient
  • Get more sleep
  • Make a budget
  • Leave your work at the office
  • Focus on self-care
  • Meditate as a family
  • Find an outlet
  • “cell-free” zone
  • Spend more time with your partner
  • Take more baths
  • Have a girls’/boys’ night
  • Be more flexible
  • See your child for who they are
  • Teach your child to speak up
  • Help those less fortunate
  • Drink more water
  • Find 30 minutes a day of “me” time
  • Challenge yourself
  • Focus on experiences, not things
  • Make health a priority
  • Start—or finish—a degree
  • Inform yourself
  • Maintain balance
  • Laugh often
  • Cook dinner more frequently
  • Ask for help
  • Have designated “cheat” days
  • Stop having FOMO
  • Say “I love you” more often 
  1. This assessment should be family centered and may include an assessment of the child’s social-emotional health, caregiver depression, and social determinants of health. (Reference) ↩︎
  2. At each visit, age-appropriate physical examination is essential, with infants totally unclothed and older children undressed and suitably draped. See “Use of Chaperones During the Physical Examination of the Pediatric Patient” (Reference). ↩︎
  3. Screen, per reference. ↩︎
  4. Blood pressure measurement in infants and children with specific risk conditions should be performed at visits before the age of 3 years. (Reference).   ↩︎
  5. A visual acuity screen is recommended at ages 4 and 5 years, as well as in cooperative 3-year-olds. Instrument-based screening may be used to assess risk at ages 12 and 24 months, in addition to the well visits at 3 through 5 years of age. (Reference ↩︎
  6. These may be modified, depending on the entry point into the schedule and individual needs. ↩︎
  7. Perform risk assessment or screening, as appropriate, per recommendations in the current edition of the AAP Pediatric Nutrition: Policy of the American Academy of Pediatrics (Iron chapter). ↩︎
  8. Testing should be performed on the recognition of high-risk factors. Tuberculosis testing per recommendations of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases.  ↩︎
  9. See reference. ↩︎
  10. Adolescents should be screened for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) per recommendations in the current edition of the AAP Red Book: Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases. ↩︎
  11. Those at increased risk of HIV infection, including those who are sexually active, participate in injection drug use, or are being tested for other STIs, should be tested for HIV and reassessed annually. ↩︎

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