Journal of School of Public Health and

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Background and Aim: Despite the fact that the proportion of youth population is very high in Iran, there is no well designed, comprehensive reproductive health program for the youth. This prompted the health planners to evaluate all the existing centers that deliver reproductive health services to the youth in the country in order to identify the weaknesses and strengths of the services and the centers.

Materials and Methods: A descriptive analytic study was conducted from March 2006 to March 2007, in coordination with the Vice-chancellor for Health of Universities of Medical Sciences, through Offices for Health of the Youth and Schools (OHYS). Five health centers, namely, Tehran, Semnan, Bam, Chabahar, and Fassa Health Centers (the only centers delivering reproductive health services to the youth) were included in the study. They were assessed for structure and physical facilities, job satisfaction of the personnel, satisfaction of the youth consulting them, and the services (including consultative services) delivered. The data were gathered through questionnaires using a checklist and analyzed by the SPSS-13 software.

Results: The health center personnel thought that the quality of services delivered at the centers was low. They also believed that the physical facilities, including equipment in the clinical examination room, furniture, cleanliness of the premises, and entertainment facilities, were not of an acceptable standard. About 64% of the personnel of the health centers personnel expressed job satisfaction. On the other hand, 39% of the young people consulting the centers expressed full, and 54% relative, satisfaction with the services they were receiving the remaining 7% were not content at all. The highest rate of satisfaction was with the psychologist, physician, and midwife, so that 95% of the clients recommended the centers to other young people seeking reproductive health services. Finally, the clients said that in most of the centers paramedical personnel, including nutrition officers (50%) and midwives with a Master's degree (17.5%), were insufficient.

Conclusion: It is suggested that a comprehensive service package be developed to be used in all the health centers, rather than each center deliver services based on the existing facilities and individual preferences. Such a package should be based on the national reproductive health programs (according to the medical education curricula). Intersectoral collaboration (particularly from the Ministry of Education and cultural organizations) is also very essential.

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Background and Aim: Access to reproductive health information and services is a basic right for the youth. Lack of suitable educational/counselling materials about reproductive health can decrease effectiveness of educational programs. This study aimed to determine the premarrital reproductive health educational needs of the youth.

Materials and Methods: In a descriptive-analytical study a total of 450 young males and females were selected by stratified random sampling to participate in pre-marital counseling in Tehran. Data about pre-marrital reproductive health educational needs were collected using a questionnaire developed by the investigator, with a 5 degree-Likert scale. SPSS-15 was used for data analysis, the statistical tests being t-test, one-tailed ANOVA and chi-square.  

Results: Based on the Likert scale (1-5), felt need for reproductive health education was 3, it being higher among females (p<0.05). Both the males and females thought that what they needed most was education/counseling on healthy sexual relationship. The educational needs did not seem to be influenced statistically significantly by socio-demographic variables in either gender.

Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it seems that the current educational materials are not sufficient for pre-marrital counseling. Comprehensive information on reproductive health, with particular emphasis on sexual relationship, should be included in the existing programs, so that the youth can begin a better, healthier married life.

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Background and Aim: Educational programs for couples' mental health promotion in marital life are a necessity.  The first step in planning an educational program understands the needs of the target group. This paper reports the mental health educational needs in youth planning to marry.

Materials and Methods: In a descriptive-analytical cross sectional study, 450 individuals taking part in pre-marriage education courses in Tehran were selected by randomized stratified sampling. The data was collected using a questionnaire that measured the educational needs in the area of mental health by the 5-point Likert-type scale. Data analysis was done using the SPSS-15 software, the statistical tests being the independent T-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the chi-square test.

Results: On the whole, the subjects' felt need for mental health education was more than moderate (3 on the Likert scale) women expressed a higher need than men (p=0.001). The main concern of the participants - both men and women - was How to keep romance alive in married life. The extent of need expressed for mental education was not statistically different in different socio-demographic groups of women, while worker men expressed a higher need than self-employed men (P=0.018).                                                                        

Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, young people planning to marry have a felt need for education in the area of mental health. It is recommended to design and implement educational programs to promote their knowledge in this area with due consideration of priorities stated by them.

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Background and Aim: Condom use in extramarital sexual relations is a major tool, protecting the two partners against venereal diseases. Therefore, it is essential to investigate this matter. This study aimed to determine the reasons for using and not using the condom by the Iranian youth
in their extramarital sexual relations and the related cultural issues.
Materials and Methods: This was a national cross-sectional survey using multistage sampling in 13 provinces in Iran, including 3246 participants 19-29 years old, conducted in 2014, using a questionnaire to collect data.
Results: The proportion of males in the sample was 51% and that of females 49%. On the whole, 19.5% of the participants (31.7% of the males and 6.9% of the females) had had extramarital sex relations. The proportions of the participants with a history of extramarital sex using the condom at every intercourse, almost at every intercourse, sometimes and never were 21.7%, 15.4%, 35.3% and 27.6%, respectively. The reasons for not using the condom regularly were unavailability of the condom, not liking it, its high price, it not being necessary and using other tools.
Conclusion: The major reasons for not using the condom had cultural roots or were related to personal and cultural preferences. Encouraging condom use widely would require appropriate cultural policy-making