Health Conditions in Tehran’s Girl Schools from 1927 to 1934: A Brief Survey

A new model of relations emerged in schools after the establishment of new educational centers in Iran in the mid-Qajar era. The cultural authorities of the time were particularly interested in school health, which was adopted as a principle from the European, particularly French, school systems. During the period 1925 to 1941, with special attention to the new Western models of education, school health changed more and more. This study provides a descriptive-analytical report on state health policies in girl schools in Tehran, Iran, from 1927 to 1934, based on health records available at the National Archives of Iran. The findings reveal that since the mid-first Pahlavi era, officials from the Ministry of Science became increasingly involved in the issue of health, which resulted in institutionalization of health and medical examination of students, establishment of the School Health Office, publication of theoretical health discussions in magazines, and teaching of health principles to students, thereby improving the level of health in Tehran schools during the study period. The study aims to provide Iranian physicians and health policymakers with a review of this historical experience.