Social mobilization for safe transition from adolescence: a qualitative research in Iran

Introduction Until now, the services provided to Iranian youth have been prepared based on authorities' perspectives and according to the resources and reports from other countries and international agencies. Using youth perspectives to provide health, however, helps in continuing the process of providing health services, and most young people will receive these services. Objective To explain perception of youth and key individuals to improve health programs for safe transition in Iran. Methodology This study is a qualitative research with a grounded theory approach. Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews and group discussions. Participants were first selected by purposive sampling and then by theoretical sampling. Overall, 67 adolescents aged 14-18 years, eight youths aged 19-24 years, 12 parents and important persons involved in providing health services joined the study. Young participants and their parents were selected from different training areas of Tehran and the key individuals were from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and the Education Department. Collecting samples were continued to saturation. The Strauss and Corbin (2008) method was used for data analysis. Result In this study, the phenomenon of adolescents' confusion to manage puberty emerged. This process, with appropriate strategies, such as the mobilization of available resources in the community and comprehensive programming to provide health services by policymakers, could have provided youth empowerment as an impact to self-care. Conclusion Current services provided by health centers cannot guarantee the health of adolescents, but it does require proper planning and management in families, schools and societies.