The Feasibility and Relevance of Collecting Adolescent Health Indicators in Humanitarian Settings: Results From the West Bank

IF 3 3区医学 Q2 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES

Health Expectations Pub Date : 2025-06-13 DOI:10.1111/hex.70324

Aisha Shalash, Niveen Abu Rmeileh, Dervla Kelly, Khalifa Elmusharaf

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Abstract

Background

There is a critical concern for adolescent health in the Eastern Mediterranean region especially during humanitarian crises. This study emphasises not only the need for measuring key health indicators but also how to collect the information effectively, particularly in the West Bank. These efforts will guide evidence-based policies and interventions for this population.

Setting and Participants

This mixed-methods study aimed to determine the perceived relevance and feasibility of collecting a set of adolescent health indicators in the West Bank. Stakeholders filled out a questionnaire and participated in a workshop where they ranked 50 indicators based on context specificity, usefulness, feasibility, timeliness and resource availability. The researchers analysed the data and categorised the indicators as feasible and relevant, feasible but irrelevant, not feasible but relevant, or not feasible and irrelevant.

Results

The results of the study show that 22 out of the 50 adolescent health indicators were perceived as both feasible and relevant to be collected in the West Bank. These indicators cover a range of content areas, including determinants of health, mortality, morbidity, health behaviour and risks, policies, systems, interventions, and mental health and well-being. However, some indicators were deemed relevant but not feasible due to cultural norms, stigma and wording issues, while others were considered not relevant and not feasible, including certain indicators related to alcohol use and unavailable practices and services. Despite the challenges, stakeholders acknowledged the importance of creating a national list of adolescent health indicators to guide evidence-based programmes and policies, emphasising the need for governmental support and infrastructure for data collection.

Conclusion

Cultural norms, stigma and wording issues emerged as significant challenges in data collection. Recommendations include implementing comprehensive sexual education, improving mental health indicator wording and investing in resources to support data collection and measurement. These findings will help guide evidence-based programmes and policies for adolescent health in the region. The establishment of a national list of adolescent health indicators services is a milestone for standardising data collection, guiding health programme planning and fostering accountability. Overall, this study's findings will significantly improve understanding, interventions and prioritisation of adolescent health in the region, potentially influencing similar contexts worldwide.

Patient or Public Contribution

Our study could not have been done without the involvement of service providers. Major adolescent service providers were provided with a list of indicators and asked to rank their feasibility and relevance. The results of their rankings were then shared in a workshop. A presentation was given on the ranking of the stakeholders, and they were given a chance to discuss any agreements or concerns with the tentative list of indicators.

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在人道主义环境下收集青少年健康指标的可行性和相关性：来自西岸的结果

背景东地中海区域的青少年健康尤其在人道主义危机期间受到严重关注。这项研究不仅强调需要衡量关键的健康指标，而且强调如何有效地收集信息，特别是在西岸。这些努力将指导针对这一人群的循证政策和干预措施。背景和参与者这项混合方法研究的目的是确定在西岸收集一套青少年健康指标的相关性和可行性。利益相关者填写了一份调查问卷，并参加了一个研讨会，他们根据具体情况、有用性、可行性、及时性和资源可用性对50个指标进行了排名。研究人员对数据进行了分析，并将这些指标分为可行且相关、可行但不相关、不可行但相关、不可行且不相关。结果：研究结果表明，50项青少年健康指标中有22项被认为既可行又值得在西岸收集。这些指标涵盖一系列内容领域，包括健康决定因素、死亡率、发病率、卫生行为和风险、政策、系统、干预措施以及精神卫生和福祉。然而，由于文化规范、耻辱和措辞问题，一些指标被认为是相关的，但不可行，而另一些指标被认为是不相关的，也不可行，包括与饮酒和无法获得的做法和服务有关的某些指标。尽管面临挑战，但利益攸关方承认必须编制一份全国青少年健康指标清单，以指导循证方案和政策，并强调需要政府支持和数据收集基础设施。结论：文化规范、耻辱感和措辞问题成为数据收集中的重大挑战。建议包括实施全面的性教育，改进心理健康指标的措辞，并投资于支持数据收集和测量的资源。这些发现将有助于指导本区域以证据为基础的青少年健康规划和政策。制定全国青少年健康指标服务清单是数据收集标准化、指导卫生方案规划和促进问责制的一个里程碑。总的来说，这项研究的结果将显著改善该地区对青少年健康的理解、干预和优先考虑，可能影响全世界类似的情况。如果没有服务提供者的参与，我们的研究是不可能完成的。向主要的青少年服务提供者提供了一份指标清单，并要求对其可行性和相关性进行排名。然后在一个研讨会上分享他们的排名结果。介绍了利益攸关方的排名，他们有机会讨论对暂定指标清单的任何协议或关切。

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来源期刊

Health Expectations 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生

CiteScore

5.20

自引率

9.40%

发文量

251

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Health Expectations promotes critical thinking and informed debate about all aspects of patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) in health and social care, health policy and health services research including: • Person-centred care and quality improvement • Patients'' participation in decisions about disease prevention and management • Public perceptions of health services • Citizen involvement in health care policy making and priority-setting • Methods for monitoring and evaluating participation • Empowerment and consumerism • Patients'' role in safety and quality • Patient and public role in health services research • Co-production (researchers working with patients and the public) of research, health care and policy Health Expectations is a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal publishing original research, review articles and critical commentaries. It includes papers which clarify concepts, develop theories, and critically analyse and evaluate specific policies and practices. The Journal provides an inter-disciplinary and international forum in which researchers (including PPIE researchers) from a range of backgrounds and expertise can present their work to other researchers, policy-makers, health care professionals, managers, patients and consumer advocates.