Health Concerns of Iranian Adolescents: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study

BACKGROUND: Adolescents have particular health and developmental needs that suggest they should neither be treated as older children nor younger adults. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper is to report the protocol for a mixed methods study that set out to investigate the health concerns of Iranian adolescents and their sources of health information with the goal of identifying suitable strategies to address their health concerns. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This mixed methods study consists of an explanatory sequential design to be conducted in two phases. The first phase was a population-based cross-sectional survey of 915, 14-18 year old adolescents who were selected by stratified cluster random sampling method from the 22 main municipal sectors of Tehran, Iran. They completed a series of self-administered questionnaires which were analyzed using quantitative approaches. The second phase was a qualitative study in which adolescents were selected using purposeful sampling for individual in-depth semi-structured interviews on the basis of the quantitative findings from the first phase. These data, together with a literature review and data obtained through nominal group technique, would then be used to in the development of strategies to reduce adolescents’ health concerns. RESULTS: The findings of this mixed methods sequential explanatory study are expected to provide unique information about the health concerns of Iranian adolescents and their sources of information, which to date have received little attention. CONCLUSIONS: These data will provide a rich source of information that can be used by intervention programs, health professionals and policy makers in addressing the health concerns of adolescents, with the goal of facilitating a successful passage to adult life.