Knowledge, attitude and practices of secondary school teachers regarding school health services in children

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONGood health and good education provide individuals to lead productive and satisfying lives. Physical activity, quality education with good health and nutrition are responsible for development of child's ability to attain her or his full potential. Children and youth are recognized as prime population. Academic success, optimal health and well-being of its children and youth predict national development. Schools are important settings for comprehensive health promotion. Schools exert maximum influence on the lives of children and youth; and can play a key role in supporting students' health and, by extension, the health of their families and communities. 1Children spend most of their time with their teachers during school years. It is recommended to have the knowledge and skills to reach their future goals and nurture hidden potentials during this period. Shaping ways of life and personality development of school children during elementary education is the key responsibility of school teachers and parents. Students follow what teachers do and say. Teachers are considered as role models to transmit values of life. School teachers by virtue of their training can influence a large number of children, thereby play major role in planning and ABSTRACT Background: Being an essential member of school, it is the responsibility of teachers to inculcate healthy habits amongst children which thereby makes the future generation of a country healthy. Objective of the study was to assess knowledge, attitude and practices of school teachers and compare them between urban and rural school teachers with special reference to school health services. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in 520 rural teachers and 185 urban teachers with an aim of assessing teacher's health related knowledge and skills. Results: Of the rural school teachers, 10.38% received school health training as compared to only 7.57% urban teachers. First aid training was received by 84 rural in contrast to only 24 urban school teachers. Mean percent knowledge score was similar for rural and urban school teachers. Mean percent attitude score amongst all schools, irrespective of their location, was 90%. Mean percent practice score among rural school teachers was 86.67% as compared to 76.67% among urban school teachers. Teacher performance score (sum of knowledge, attitude, and practices towards school health) in rural teachers was 79.64%, while that in urban school teachers was 72.21%. Conclusions: School teachers should be periodically assessed at various levels to get status of their knowledge and understanding regarding health education. It should be ensured that teachers should receive continued education and trainings related to health, especially importance of first aid and hygiene.

Status of knowledge regarding school health services among school teachers: a cross sectional study from a northern Indian state

“…We observed that 22% of participants had training regarding components of school health, which was more than (7.6%) that reported by Chavan et al 11 A lower level of training has clearly been reflecting in knowledge status of schoolteachers regarding various aspect of school health services. Regarding the adequate ratio of students per class in schools, only 11 (22%) participants answered correctly, five (10%) participants answered correctly for the number of students per latrine/toilet ratio, 14 (28%) participants answered correctly for adequate lighting of a room in the school.…”

Knowledge, Attitude and Utilization of School Health Services among Senior Secondary School Students in Egor Local Government Area, Benin City, Edo State

“…Findings from the study also revealed that attitude towards school health services among respondents was positive. Supporting this finding is a study in India where it was reported that 90% of the respondents had favorable attitude to school health services [10]. No doubt this positive attitude in this present study must have resulted from good knowledge on school health services which has led to a concomitant development of positive attitude towards it.…”

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Healthy Eating among Public School Teachers in Kuwait

“…Nutritional interventions may alter students' eating behaviors, especially because they are growing (8). Teachers' knowledge of good eating habits may transmit a favorable attitude toward healthy foods (9). Teachers' knowledge of healthy eating might improve their students' quality of healthy eating.…”

“…In most cases, teachers must undertake interventions to promote healthy eating (10). There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that unhealthy dietary choices resulting from a lack of knowledge and misconceptions about healthy foods cause some health problems such as obesity (9). A study showed that a teacher's nutrition education gained greater acceptance among children than information transmitted by an outside nutrition expert (10).…”

“… 8 Teachers’ knowledge of good eating habits may transmit a favorable attitude toward healthy foods. 9 …”