The importance of needs assessment in planning health promoting schools initiatives: comparison of youth risk behaviours of two districts in Hong Kong.

A needs assessment is recommended to be carried out before planning resource allocation in a community as it could help to identify the needs of the people. This study illustrated the importance of needs assessment in planning health promoting school initiatives by comparing the results of youth risk behaviours surveys conducted at two districts of Hong Kong, namely Tsuen Wan and North District. The findings indicated that the two districts should prioritize their resources in respect to their urgent needs. A higher proportion of students from Tsuen Wan participated in vigorous exercise regularly in comparison to students from North District. Students from North District consumed more vegetable per week and exhibited less depressive symptoms than students from Tsuen Wan. The availability of data on youth risk behaviours of the two districts would provide information for strategic planning and direct decision-making in youth health programmes.