Health issues and needs among adolescents in Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Adolescence, which is a critical foundation for lifelong health, comes with distinct health challenges and needs. Understanding these is crucial for timely and effective measures. This study therefore examines adolescent health issues and needs and identifies unmet health information and service needs, including differences by sex, grade level, and school type, to inform tailored and effective interventions. The study employed a cross-sectional design involving school adolescents. Respondents were randomly selected after stratification by sex at grade level. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that was informed by qualitative findings. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, and Pearson's chi-square tests evaluated differences by sex, grade level, and school type, in SPSS 27.0. Of the 722 adolescents participated in this study, 27.6% reported recent health problems related to mental health, reproductive health, and other issues. Respondents identified risky sexual behaviors, substance use, mental health issues, and social media addiction as major health concerns among adolescents, with sex-based differences in perceived priorities. About 73% of the respondents reported seeking health information and services for various reasons, with females were more likely to do so than males (p = 0.025). They reported often consulting parents, friends, the Internet, and health professionals, in that order, while seeking health information, with variations by school type and grade level. However, they trusted health professionals most, followed by the Internet, television/radio, and family. Only 32.7% of the respondents reported that they could access health service when needed. Adolescents from private schools were significantly more likely than those from public schools to do so (p < 0.001). Overall, the study shows that adolescent health challenges and needs are multifaceted, demanding tailored interventions, including effective multichannel health communication, promotion of health literacy, strong parental and community involvement, and accessible adolescent-friendly health services.