Priority strategic directions in adolescent health in Iran based on the WHO's Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents

Afsaneh Omidimorad, Maryam Nazari, Najmeh Bahmanziari, Mohammad Haddad Soleymani, Seyyed Hamed Barakati, Gelayol Ardalan, Tahereh Aminaee, Rahim Taghizadeh, Mohammad Esmail Motlagh, Abtin Heidarzadeh*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: In line with the World Health Organization's Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA!) guidance, the goal of the current research was to identify critical strategies for adolescents' health and to determine the role and distribution of responsibilities among the leading players in the field of adolescent health in Iran. METHODS: The current qualitative and applied study is part of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education's "Adolescent, Youth and School Health" plan to develop the "National Adolescent Health Plan Document" in 2020. First, stakeholder analysis was done, then a pool of nationally appropriate strategies was selected from the list of priority strategies recommended by the WHO in the AA-HA! through several group sessions. After that, the experts selected priority strategies based on the criteria of feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness, guaranteed resources, coordination with other plans and temporal priority, scoring, and executive priorities. Eventually, the priority strategies were assigned to different players/stakeholders in the field over several sessions bearing in mind the methods of implementation and the target groups. RESULTS: The experts identified 58 priority strategies/actions for adolescent health under the seven priority areas of positive development, sexual protection, reproductive health, mental health, substance abuse, self-harm, violence, unintentional injury, communicable and non-communicable diseases, nutrition, and physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: The highest identified priority areas were in the areas of vaccination; special health care package for service providers; training and education to promote health literacy and self-care, life skills, sexual awareness, and prevention/protection against violence; community-based mental health services, planning for adolescents' spare time, substance use prevention.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)313-321
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health
Volume35
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Aug 2023

Keywords

  • adolescent development
  • adolescent health
  • health services
  • intervention
  • Humans
  • Adolescent
  • Iran
  • Adolescent Health
  • Health Promotion
  • Accidental Injuries
  • World Health Organization

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