ARTICLE INFO

Article Type

Original Research

Authors

Shirzadi   Sh. (1)
Mahmoodi   H. (1)
Niksadat   N. (2)
Taghdisi   M.H. (3)
Shojaeizadeh   D. (4*)






(1) Department of Health education, School of Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
(2) Department of Public Health, School of Health, Shahid-Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
(3) 3Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, School of Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
(4*) Department of Health Education and Promotion, School of Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Correspondence


Article History

Received:   December  31, 2014
Accepted:   April 20, 2015
ePublished:   June 22, 2015

ABSTRACT

Aims Problems caused by menstruation are common among women. Focus group discussions are a method of data collection in which a small group of participants discuss a specified topic or issue. This study mainly aimed to determine the effects of health education based on focus group discussions on the promotion of health behaviors of female adolescents residing boarding centers of the Welfare Organization (Tehran, Iran) during their menstruation periods.
Materials & Methods This quasi-experimental interventional study recruited all eligible 12-19-year-old female residents (n=61) of the boarding centers affiliated to the Welfare Organization, Tehran, Iran. The data collection tool was a questionnaire including demographic information and puberty health behaviors (health behaviors during the menstruation period). The questionnaires were completed through interviews before and one month after training. The educational intervention lasted for three months. Data were analyzed using paired t and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests in SPSS16.
Findings The mean scores of performance increased from 12.11±4.43 before the intervention to 16.50±2.79 after the intervention (P<0.001).
Conclusion Since the educational intervention based on focus group discussions had positive effects on the participants’ puberty health, such discussions are recommended to educate adolescent girls about puberty issues.


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