The identification of youth health needs as perceived by students, parents, school administrators, and school board members

The purpose for conducting this descriptive study was to survey students, parents, school administrators, and school board members of four rural Nebraska high schools to determine their perceptions regarding the five most important health issues for adolescents between and including the ages of 14 and 18. Adolescent health needs were identified through the use of a 14-item survey instrument: Youth Health Needs Survey (YHNS). The 14 health items that students used to select the top five issues were: self-image, family planning, dating relationships, substance abuse, problem solving, eating disorders, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), stress management, motor vehicle safety, exercise/fitness, conflict management, gun safety, depression, and family relationships. Two hundred ninety-five persons participated in this study: 183 students, 84 parents, seven school administrators, and 21 school board members. Because of the low number of parents, school administrators, and school board members, these numbers were combined to form one adult group. Therefore, the sample consisted of 183 students and 112 adults. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, and ranks were utilized to gather subgroups\u27 perceptions toward the most important adolescent health issues. All students selected sexually transmitted diseases, self-image, family relationships, substance abuse, and problem solving as their top five health issues. It was interesting to discover that the adult subgroup, which included parents, school administrators, and school board members, also included these same issues in their top five health concerns. The issue of sexually transmitted diseases was ranked first by all students, while the adult subgroup selected self-image as their top health concern. These psychosocial issues were interrelated, and certainly were paramount not only in the Midwest, but also globally. The findings of this study have important implications for curriculum development in that the results suggest adolescent health needs/concerns which should be addressed in the school curricula. The findings also point to the involvement of other health professionals in the community who share the responsibility of promoting lifelong adolescent health education