What are the Needs of Students? An Experience from a District Based Health Promoting Schools Project in Hong Kong

A district based needs assessment was conducted over the past year to understand the health problems and the health education needs of the students in Tai Po district, Hong Kong. 6,879 primary one to primary six students from eighteen primary schools, participating in a district based Health Promoting Schools Project in Hong Kong, were invited to complete a self-administrated questionnaire which was partly adapted from the Centre for Diseases and Control (CDC)'s Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance Survey. The results presented a holistic picture of the health and needs of primary students with respect to their general health status, mental health, body weight and dietary behaviour, exercise, preventive health care, tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, school environment and school health education. It provides baseline information for the project to prioritize the problems and strategically plan health promotion programmes with reference to the concept of Health Promoting Schools by the World Health Organization. Asia-Pac J Public Health 2004; 16(Supp): S17-S21.