Adolescents and young adults are an important target concerning reducing health-risk behavior adoption, including sexual health. Studying their knowledge concerning sexuality and their main counsellors, can be an important step in targeting an updated health promotion approach. This study characterized adolescents and young adults’ knowledge and attitudes about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and contraception, prospecting for their main trusted counseling sources. We conducted a cross-sectional, population-based, self-report survey of 746 individuals aged between 14 and 24 years from Paredes, Portugal. The questionnaire included many dimensions, as demographic characteristics, youth behavior, currently sexually active status, main counselors concerning health topics, awareness, and knowledge about STDs and contraception. Mean age of the participants was 18.3 years, 50.5% of them had started their sexual activity. Males present themselves as more sexually active, starting earlier, and have more sexual partners than females. Participants reported an adequate knowledge perception about STDs and contraception methods, however we found different patterns on specific STDs and contraceptive methods, according to gender, age, and sexually active status. Our results help design specific interventions to reach youth, community, and healthcare providers, pointing out the value of bringing people to the center of health policies.

Background: Telemedicine has gained prominence in primary care, but evidence comparing its modalities is scarce. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 184,308 video and phone consultations from a telemedicine platform in Portugal, comparing quality indicators based on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) domains. Results: Video consultations were associated with lower recurrence rates, higher patient-reported helpfulness (95.4% vs. 92.3%), and greater satisfaction. Time to appointment was shorter for phone consultations, but video had a longer duration. Conclusions: In this cross-sectional analysis, video consultations were associated with higher patient-reported helpfulness and lower short-term recurrence than telephone consultations, while telephone offered faster access. Because telephone users were substantially older and the dataset lacked measures of comorbidity, illness severity, and socioeconomic status, these associations are likely confounded by indication and should not be read as causal evidence of superior quality. The findings nonetheless point to differences between modalities and to the importance of equitable access to information-richer consultations.

Socially vulnerable adolescents are often forgotten in the healthcare system, which is more prone to manage those who are assigned to the system, leaving others. We aimed to characterise the perception of these patients about preferences and priorities concerning healthcare services in their medical appointments, relevant healthcare topics, and value attributed to the contact with their physicians. This cross-sectional study surveyed a group of adolescents living in institutional settings to enhance a patient-centred approach and, therefore, higher health promotion and better health outcomes for adolescents and young adults. A total of 571 adolescents with a mean age of 17 (55.4% females) answered the survey. Primary healthcare centres were the main location for medical surveillance. The most wanted topics were diet (83%), diseases (82%), and exercise (75%), with less emphasis surrounding topics such as free time, tobacco, and drugs. A significant association was found between valuing physicians’ characteristics and perceived doctor skills. This research highlights the pertinence of understanding the priorities and preferences of institutionalised socially vulnerable adolescents to reinforce equity and create a cosy environment for everyone.