Iranian Journal of

  Background & Objectives : Health risk behaviors in adolescence, such as alcohol consumption and smoking, can affect both short-term and long-term health. The aim of study was to estimate the prevalence of health risk behaviors among high school students of Qazvin.

  Methods : The target population of this descriptive study was all high school students of Qazvin who were enrolled in the 1390-91 academic year. The sample group included 160) 239 girls, 271 boys) students that were selected by randomly multistage sampling. The assessment instrument was the Youth Risk Behaviors Surveillance System (YRBSS) Questionnaire.

  Results: Findings indicated that use of hookah was the most popular in girls and boys (59%) as compared with cigarette smoking (32.7%), drug use (7.3%), and alcohol consumption (16.7%). The prevalence of physical violence in and outside the school in one year, carrying weapons to school in a month, cigarette smoking in the school in one month, smoking hookah, and alcohol and opioid use during one month were more frequently observed in boys than girls. The use of the seat belt was more common among girls than boys, and the total prevalence of using the seat belt was 23.7%.

  Conclusion : Given the high prevalence of high risk behaviors among high school students, it is necessary to develop a high risk behaviors surveillance system and use the obtained information to devise preventive measures at the individual, school, and family levels.

  Background & Objectives : Children who work or live on the street are one of key populations at risk for HIV and hard to reach for study or providing services. Here, as a methodological paper, we present the methods and steps of a rapid assessment and response (RARE) project conducted among street children in Tehran.

  Methods : We applied a mixture of qualitative (literature review, focus group discussion, in-depth interview) and quantitative (structure interview) methods to collect data from key informants in non-governmental and governmental agencies as well as street children. We applied targeted sampling to recruit key informants and time location sampling to recruit street children.

 Results: The study was conducted in eight steps to recognize the involved stakeholders, define target population (street children) and to guide on how to approach them (steps 1 to 2: Initial Consultation, Study Area Profile), to map the venues and gathering spots and ethnographic findings crucial for further recruitment into surveys (steps 3 to 5: Contextual Assessment, Population and Setting Assessment, Health Issues Assessment), assess the risk behaviors (step 6: Assessment Behavior Risk and Health), evaluate the response (step 7: Intervention Assessment), and develop an operational plan for improving the services (step 8: Developing an Action Plan).

  Conclusion: RARE is a participatory mix research method with sufficient flexibility to study complex health problems such as stigmatized HIV risk behaviors among high risk and hard to reach populations and also to assess the health sector response.