PERCEPTION AND ATTITUDE OF ADOLESCENTS REGARDING ADOLESCENCE RELATED HEALTH ISSUES

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the level of awareness of adolescents, role of parents, teachers and friends, and to compare
level of health awareness of boys with girls, and also government institution students with private institution students
regarding adolescent health.
Material and Methods: The cross sectional study was conducted by the Department of Community Medicine Khyber
Medical College, in Peshawar District; from January 2016 to June 2016. After taking approval, a total of 429 students
both male and female, of ages 11-19 years were selected by non probability convenience sampling. A structured
questionnaire was designed to collect data regarding important dependent and independent variables. A total of eight
educational institutions were conveniently selected in which half were from public and half were from private sector.
Results were analyzed using SPSS Version 16.0 and presented in form of tables.
Results: Our study revealed that 51.98% had moderate and 47.09% had good level of awareness regarding adolescent
health; and only 0.93% had an excellent level. Female adolescent students (51.98%) were better aware than male
students (42.28%); and the difference was significant at p < 0.05. Public sectors scored significantly higher (53.34%)
than the private sector (46.29%) at p<0.05. Role of family and institution was poor to moderate and were 76.92% and
68.99% respectively; regarding adolescent health.
Conclusion: It was concluded that majority of the adolescents had moderate level of awareness regarding adolescent
health and girls scored higher than boys. Moreover, the government schools played better role than private schools
and the role of friends was much better than parents and teachers. It is recommended that families and schools adopt
a more active role in raising awareness of adolescents.