Health Education and Promotion Needs Assessment Among Guatemalan Youth in Urban and Rural Indigenous Communities

Abstract:

As a Masters in Public Health Student at Brigham Young University, the purpose of my work was complete my graduate project by performing a needs assessment in two demographically and culturally distinct schools in Guatemala to assess prominent risk factors among adolescent target population. The research was coordinated through the Rose Education Foundation of Guatemala, through which I was able to access to and compare results of secondary schools in urban Guatemala, with indigenous school in rural Guatemala.

In each school I collected quantitative and qualitative data through surveys and focus groups in order to determine the most common risk behaviors in which youth in these areas are engaging. Through the administration of WHO's Global School-based Student Health Survey to students in the urban school of Chimaltenango and the rural school in Momostenango, I collected informative data from around 400 students. This data allowed us to compare differences in health risk and protective behaviors in urban and indigenous students. This survey assessed substance abuse (alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs), sexual activity, physical activity, and other health measures of importance in adolescent populations. The results allowed for the identification of risk behaviors that are of most concern within these two populations and also a comparison to be made among the distinct groups of students. The data analysis, final research report and recommendation made provide the Rose Education Foundation and other organizations with suggestions to help guide the planning and development of future interventions in the schools and/or communities.