Health Needs of Adolescents in Aran va Bidgol City, Iran

Considering the importance of adolescents’ health and that the 1st step in designing a comprehensive health plan is to assess the needs of the target group, this study was conducted to determine the health needs of adolescents in Aran va Bidgol City, Iran. 

This Cross-sectional-analytical study was performed on 497 students (265 girls and 232 boys) aged 12-18 years studying in one of the 1st and second-grade high schools in Aran va Bidgol City in 2016. The sampling method was clustering. The data collection tool used in this study was the adolescent health needs questionnaire which was a standard and psychometric instrument by Iranian culture. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 16 using descriptive statistics and a Chi-square test at a significance level of 0.05. 

Participants in the study were 53.30% girls and 46.70% boys. The Mean±SD score of students’ health needs in order of priority included nutrition (22.09±3.80), physical activity (10.19±2.90), health education services (64.30±15.90), healthy communication with parents (44.60±7.60), personal hygiene (21.10±2.71), mental health and counseling services (52.50±7.90) and spiritual health (21.90±3.70). Girls felt more of the need of healthy communication with their parents and boys in the area of personal hygiene.

By the results of this study, communication between parents and children, health-related educational needs, personal hygiene, sleep, and spiritual health are some crucial issues that should be followed up in adolescents.