Abstract
Background: Adolescents are developmentally normatively interested in information about sexuality and other health-related issues. In the absence of available health programming, identifying the sources of information that youth are currently accessing will help adolescent health researchers understand where youth ‘are,’ thereby informing where and how future interventions can be targeted. This is particularly important in resource-limited settings, such as Iran, where funding for public health programming is scant. This study aimed to examine primary and preferred sources of adolescents’ health information queries and identify health topics in which they are most interested.
Methods: In 2011, a random sample of 915 adolescents, aged 14–18 years, completed anonymous, self-administered questionnaires.
Results: Mothers (51.11%) and same-sex friends (40.11%) were both the primary as well as the preferred source of health information for adolescents. More than one in three adolescents identified media information sources, including books (39.6%) and the Internet (37.9%), as their primary and preferred sources. The most common topic adolescents sought information about was sexuality issues. Younger adolescents preferred receiving information from parents, whereas older adolescents preferred friends as sources for information [X2=9.3, p=0.009]. No age differences were noted in using media sources (p>0.05).
Conclusions: These findings indicate future interventions should integrate some if not all of these sources [both people (mothers, same-sex friends) and media (books, the Internet)] to deliver evidenced-based health information.
This work was supported and funded by the Tehran University of Medical Sciences [grant number 89-04-28-11912]. We would like to thank Ms. Tonya Prescott for her thoughtful reading of a draft of the manuscript.
Conflict of interest statement: None.
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©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorial
- To vaccinate or not to vaccinate
- Review
- Sexual and reproductive health of Portuguese adolescents
- Original articles
- Tobacco consumption among 12- to 15-year-old schoolchildren in Delhi
- Perceptions of communication, family adaptability and cohesion: a comparison of adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer and their parents
- The prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying in high school: a 2011 survey
- Short- and medium-term impact of a residential weight-loss camp for overweight adolescents
- Personal and family attributes of pregnant teenagers: findings from a community-based study in Sri Lanka
- Adolescents with anorectal malformation: physical outcome, sexual health and quality of life
- What sources do adolescents turn to for information about their health concerns?
- Experiences of returning to elite alpine skiing after ACL injury and ACL reconstruction
- Hyperandrogenemia in male autistic children and adolescents: relation to disease severity
- The career aspirations of adolescents with eating disorders: an exploratory study and suggested links to adolescent self-concept development
- Differential effects of religiosity on sexual initiation among Nigerian in-school adolescents
- Prevalence of menstrual disorders among adolescent girls in Osogbo, South Western Nigeria
- The concepts of work, study, and leisure of parents and children
- How do Iranian female adolescents express their health education needs? A needs assessment with qualitative thematic analysis
- Attitudes and knowledge levels of nurses and residents caring for adolescents with an eating disorder
- Predictors of suicide ideation and risk for HIV among juvenile offenders in Georgia
- Short Communication
- Association between food intake frequency and obesity among adolescent girls in Saudi Arabia
- Case reports
- Unusual cause of urethral bleeding in an adolescent: a case in dilemma
- Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome: a specific cause of cyclical vomiting
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorial
- To vaccinate or not to vaccinate
- Review
- Sexual and reproductive health of Portuguese adolescents
- Original articles
- Tobacco consumption among 12- to 15-year-old schoolchildren in Delhi
- Perceptions of communication, family adaptability and cohesion: a comparison of adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer and their parents
- The prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying in high school: a 2011 survey
- Short- and medium-term impact of a residential weight-loss camp for overweight adolescents
- Personal and family attributes of pregnant teenagers: findings from a community-based study in Sri Lanka
- Adolescents with anorectal malformation: physical outcome, sexual health and quality of life
- What sources do adolescents turn to for information about their health concerns?
- Experiences of returning to elite alpine skiing after ACL injury and ACL reconstruction
- Hyperandrogenemia in male autistic children and adolescents: relation to disease severity
- The career aspirations of adolescents with eating disorders: an exploratory study and suggested links to adolescent self-concept development
- Differential effects of religiosity on sexual initiation among Nigerian in-school adolescents
- Prevalence of menstrual disorders among adolescent girls in Osogbo, South Western Nigeria
- The concepts of work, study, and leisure of parents and children
- How do Iranian female adolescents express their health education needs? A needs assessment with qualitative thematic analysis
- Attitudes and knowledge levels of nurses and residents caring for adolescents with an eating disorder
- Predictors of suicide ideation and risk for HIV among juvenile offenders in Georgia
- Short Communication
- Association between food intake frequency and obesity among adolescent girls in Saudi Arabia
- Case reports
- Unusual cause of urethral bleeding in an adolescent: a case in dilemma
- Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome: a specific cause of cyclical vomiting