753 – Female Adolescents'needs: the Importance of Health Promoting Schools

Abstract

Background & purpose:

In contemporary society, schools play an increasingly important role in preparing young people for adulthood. This role is more prominent especially in female adolescents because of synchronization of puberty years and girls attendance in schools. the purpose of this paper is to explore adolescents and key informants' perception and experiences regarding to importance of schools in female adolescents' health needs.

Material and methods:

This qualitative study was conducted in Sari in the North of Iran. Sixty-seven urban and rural female adolescents between 12-19 years of old participated in 8 focus group discussions. in addition, semi structured interviews were done with 11 key informants. Participants were selected based on purposeful sampling and with maximum variety. All taperecorded data was fully transcribed and thematic analysis was done to identify key themes.

Results:

Two main categories emerged from data: Optimal performance of teachers and administrators and Educational reform. Conscious teachers, Promotion counseling in schools and optimal management were the main subcategories of the first theme and reform of teaching patterns and reducing test anxiety were the main subcategories of the second.

Conclusion:

The school is responsible for changing and modifying maladaptive behaviors, and providing emotional and mental health of students. So reform in educational system, improvement of teaching patterns and promotion of teachers, counselors and administrators performances are necessary.