Characteristics of health-promoting schools from Iranian adolescents’ point of view

Abstract

Abstract Aim: Although characteristics of health-promoting schools are mentioned in the World Health Organization guidelines, different countries need to design more details of indicators for assessing these schools according to their social and cultural context. The aim of this study was to investigate characteristics of health-promoting schools from Iranian adolescent girls’ point of view. Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 2010 middle school and high school female adolescents were selected from randomly selected schools in Mazandaran province, Iran. They completed a self-completion questionnaire around their views about characteristics of health- promoting schools. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and an independent t-test. Results: It is revealed that from Iranian adolescents’ point of view the most important feature of health-promoting schools was the schools with no stressful exams and where notices are kindly given to students for their mistakes. Conclusion: The results suggest that there is a need for more measurable standards of health-promoting schools based on the socio-cultural context of both developing and developed countries.