Knowledge of School Health Programme among Public Primary School Teachers in Sokoto Metropolis, Northwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Background: School health program takes care of the health needs of a significant proportion of the population, especially in the third world countries, by ensuring that children of school age remain healthy and benefit maximally from their education. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of School Health Programme (SHP) among primary school teachers in Sokoto metropolis, northwestern, Nigeria.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 382 public primary school teachers that were selected by multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Proportions and adjusted odds ratios (OR) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI) in a binary logistic regression model. All levels of significance were set at p < 0.05.
Results: The mean age of the respondents was 34.8 ± 8.6 years. More than half of the respondents were Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) holders 245 (64.1%). Knowledge of SHP was good in 198 (51.8%) of the respondents. The predictors of good knowledge were belonging to other ethnicity (aOR: 3.70; 95% CI=1.11–12.50, p=0.034), having degree or postgraduate qualification in education (aOR: 4.55; 95% CI=2.63–7.69, p<0.001) and having worked for two or more decades (aOR: 4.15; 95% CI=1.34–12.78, p=0.011)
Conclusion: Nearly half of the respondents had poor knowledge of SHP and this is likely to deny a large number of school children of being healthy and benefitting from th eir education. Awareness campaigns and trainings on SHP to fill in the knowledge gap is highly recommended.