TOPIC

Comparison of various School Health activities scores of Private and Public Schools within Owerri Municipal, Imo State, Nigeria.

AUTHORS

Ahumaraeze CB and Akani NA


ABSTRACT
Globally, in spite of the fact that school age children do not suffer from the high mortality of preschool children; there exist significant burden of morbidity among them. The aim of this study was to compare the various School Health activities scores of Private and Public Schools within Owerri Municipal, Imo State, Nigeria. A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out to compare the various school health services in 36 government approved primary (12 public and 24 private) schools within Owerri Municipal LGA. Relevant data was obtained from school head teachers using an evaluation scale and direct observation was done where applicable. The responses were scored using the School Health Programme evaluation scale. Thereafter, a prospective (pre-test – post-test) study was carried out in two public primary schools between May to December 2017 (two academic terms). Within the period (September to December 2017) an intervention was carried out which involved the running of school clinics in two selected public primary schools. School attendances were kept during the pre intervention and intervention periods using a check off list for monitoring daily attendances and reasons for absenteeism. School health clinics were available in one (8.3%) public school and 5 (20.8%) private schools. The private schools performed comparatively better than public schools. These findings therefore portray the need for implementation of the National School Health Policy by the State Ministries of Education and Health.

Keywords: School health activities, scores, private and public schools.


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PUBLISHED

2023-01-11

HOW TO CITE

Ahumaraeze CB and Akani NA (2023). Comparison of various School Health activities scores of Private and Public Schools within Owerri Municipal, Imo State, Nigeria. IDOSR JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 8(1)52-68,2023.