Attention to physical health concerns of adolescents: another-way to meet the psychological and social needs

The provision of services in our primary care system defined for adolescents focuses more on physical aspects and less attention is paid to psychological and social concerns to prevent high-risk behaviors. This study was conducted to determine the physical and psychological health needs of adolescents and provision resources from the viewpoints of various health providers and adolescents. This qualitative study was carried out through in-depth interviews with young people aged 15 - 24 years and other people involved in the service delivery process. Nine group discussions and 30 individual interviews were done in Tehran. Data collection continued until data saturation was reached. The analysis was performed simultaneously with sampling. Four criteria of Lincoln-Guba were used to assess the validity and quality of the study. In this study, two main ideas “adolescents’ health concerns” and “information resources” were emerged. Adolescents’ health concerns included physical, psychological, and social needs. The most important reason for referring to health centers was the physical illness. Communication with the opposite sex and the fear of divulging secrets were the most important reasons for psychological worries. The theme of information resources consisted of two categories of accepted and common resources. Service providers as accepted resources were important in the physical dimension. The Internet was a common method to resolve psychological and social concerns. Since receiving health-related services is easily possible and acceptable, this channel can be a suitable way to evaluate the serious psychological problems of adolescents. Then, it prevents the use of virtual resources and reduces high-risk behaviors.