By Jackie Powder, Photo: from article, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, August 22, 2023
At the Center for Adolescent/Young Adult Health at Johns Hopkins’ Harriet Lane Clinic, pediatrician Arik Marcell often heard complaints from his young male patients about the free condom brands provided at school or in the community. The discussions gave him an idea.
“I created the equivalent of a free condom store in my clinic, really a large closet that they can walk in and see all the different kinds of options,” says Marcell, MD, MPH ’94, associate professor of Pediatrics at the School of Medicine with a joint appointment in Population, Family and Reproductive Health. “They come in different sizes and materials, and we’ll just say, ‘Fill a paper bag’ that they can take home. Then I challenge them, try and test them out like you would anything, and find something that works best for you.”
An expert in the health of adolescent males, Marcell has a particular interest in improving their reproductive and sexual health care, services that are routinely overlooked in primary care well visits for this group.
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