Structured Health Education for Iranian Female High School Students: Effect on Self-Esteem.

BACKGROUND: Health education in adolescence is important in which critical transitions from childhood to adulthood occur. These developmental transitions range from a marked increase in growth rate and physiological changes to movement toward economic and social independence. One of the most influential elements on this development is the self-esteem of a teenager. This study aims to determine if structured health education for Iranian female high school students will affect their self-esteem.

METHODS: This study was a longitudinal pre- and post-intervention three-step self-assessment survey study. Participants consisted of 159 female students between 15 to 18 years of age. They were selected from two public high schools in Tehran, Iran, and randomly allocated to intervention and control groups. Students in the intervention group received structured education on adolescent health, whereas those in the control group only received the standard educational curriculum. Baseline pre- and post-intervention questionnaires were obtained immediately before and after the structured education from all students. An additional follow-up questionnaire was completed by all students after three months of the structured education.

RESULTS: Eighty-six students with mean age of 14.98 ± 0.67 and seventy-three students with mean age of 15.15 ± 0.75 (p = 0.16) were allocated to the intervention and control groups, respectively. Repeated measured ANOVA showed that the trend of changes of self-esteem score in intervention group was statistically significant (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Structured adolescent health education increased the average score of the self-esteem of Iranian female high school students.