Implications of Counselling, Psychological and Social Services on Academic Performance of Primary School Pupils in Southwest, Nigeria

The study examined implications of counselling, psychological and social services on academic performance of primary school pupils in Southwest, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population consisted of all primary school teachers in Southwest out of which 1006 teachers were selected from the three sampled states in Southwest, Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select sample for the study. The instrument used for data collection was tagged Implications of Counselling, Psychological and Social Services Questionnaire “(CPSSQ)” and a proforma titled “Data Retrieval Format” (DRF). CPSSQ comprised of two sections. Section A sought information on the bio data of the respondents while Section B was used to elicit information on implications of psychological, emotional and social dimensions of the pupils’ health. The instrument was validated by experts in Guidance and Counselling, Human Kinetics and Health Education and Tests and Measurement. The reliability of the instrument was ensured by using Pearson's Product Moment Correlation analysis and had reliability co-efficient of 0.86, which was adjudge high enough and considered the instrument to be reliable. One general question was raised and one null hypothesis was formulated for the study. The study revealed that counselling, psychological and social services had implications on school health programme. It was therefore recommended that the status of school health programme in Southwest should be improved upon, considering its importance to the survival and academic performance of the school pupils.

Stakeholders' perception of possible integration pathways for eye health into school health programme in Zanzibar: a qualitative health system research

Purpose: To scope the potential for eye health programme to be integrated into Zanzibar School Health programme, through the lenses of stakeholders Methods: Embedded into an operational research project integrating eye and School health, we elicited responses from 83 participants, purposefully selected from the Ministry of Health (n=7), Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (n=7), hospitals/eye centres (n=5), master trainers (4) and schools (n=60) participated in in-depth interviews. Their responses were analysed and grouped into four pre-determined themes of Human Resource Training, Resources Mobilisation, Acceptability, and Leadership and Governance. Quotations are presented to illustrate the findings. Results: In line with the four research themes, i) The integrated school eye health programme training was satisfactory, with room for improvement, ii) Child eye health screening conducted by teachers was well-received, with concerns and suggestions to improve its effectiveness and efficiency, iii) Integration of eye health into the school health programme is perceived as a good initiative, but to increase referral, service uptake and spectacle usage, primary care units must be equipped, and eye health awareness needs to be improved, iv) Departmental roles, resources, gaps and synergies to ensure eye health is successfully integrated into the school health programme. Conclusion: The concept of integrated school eye health delivery is generally well-received by beneficiaries and stakeholders within an operational research project in Zanzibar, with the caveat that investment is required for effective referral and update.

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

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.

Descriptive profile of patients attending antirabies clinic: a hospital based study of animal bite cases in Patiala

Background: The word “Rabies” is derived from Latin word ‘Rabus’, which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Rabhas’ which means ‘to do violence’. In India, the dog has always existed as the main reservoir of rabies. Globally Asia contributes to highest Rabies mortality; with the highest incidence reported in India followed by China.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the antirabies clinic during the period of one year (2016-2017). A self-administered, pretested questionnaire was used to extract information on demographic profile, biting animal, nature of biting dog, vaccination status, WHO category of bite, site of bite. Information of 500 animal bite cases were collected during the study period.Results: Maximum cases were reported among children below 15 years age group i.e. 157 (31.4%). Majority reported cases 342 (68.40%) were males and maximum reported cases 338 (67.60%) were from urban area. Majority 472 (94.4%) were bitten by dogs. Approximately two third (66.74%) of the biting dogs were stray while, among the total 157 (33.26%) pet dogs; approximately only one third 59 (37.58%) were vaccinated.Conclusions: Since young children are more at risk of animal bite. So, educational sessions providing knowledge to protect themselves from bites should be a part of School Health Programme. A cooperative approach involving measures like proper garbage disposal, discouraging community owned dogs, helping dog catching squad and sterilization will help to reduce the dog population.

Appraisal of the Implementation of the National School Health Policy in Secondary Schools in Nigeria

Policies are checks in the execution of programme, hence the National School Health Policy document is meant to guide the promotion of the school Health programme. This study was undertaken to assess the successes and weaknesses of the execution of the National School Health Policy/School Health programme in order to make recommendation in the document. A sample of 184 school principals in Delta state were the respondents. It was an ex post facto, descriptive study. Self design questionnaire was used to solicit information. The questionnaire was derived from the strategies for the implementation of the National School Health Policy. Descriptive statistics of frequency count, percentages and a multiple regression statistics using SPSS 21 was used to analyse the data at 0.05 level of significance. It was found in this study that the National School Health Policy/School Health programme was being significantly executed in Delta state (F-value – 2.935, df and alpha, .022). Among the variables only School Health instruction with t –value, -3.034 and alpha at 0.05 was found to be a predictor of comprehensive effective National School Health implementation. Others; principal’s awareness, Government monitoring, and School Health – Community relation were not significant as a predictor of the National School Health Policy/School Health Programme. It was recommended among others that the government and other stakeholders in education should improve on the gains so far and set up a power full monitoring term to evaluate the implementation of the National School Health Policy/School Health programme on regular bases in Delta state, Nigeria.

School Health Programme in Sri Lanka: Assessment using WHO’s ‘4S’ Framework

Background Sri Lanka has one of the oldest school health programmes (SHP) in the region, which was started in 1918, and at present caters for 70% of adolescents in the country. This study assessed the implementation status of the Sri Lankan SHP. Methods This review was conducted by a panel of experts adopting a participatory approach. Policies and supporting documents were collected from the relevant sectors of the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education using electronic and manual search and by visiting institutions/resource persons. The WHO’s ’4S’ Framework; consisting of strategic information (S1), supportive evidence-informed policies (S2), strengthening services for adolescents (S3) and strengthening collaboration with other sectors (S4); was used as the guiding framework to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the SHP. Results Having a comprehensive national health information system was the main strength on S1, gaps in timeliness, completeness and accuracy of the data, and the lack of evidence on perceived health needs of school children were the main weaknesses. On S2, Sri Lanka has a strong unifying policy platform supportive of the SHP, but the timeliest need is to finalise the School Health Policy. More than 90% island-wide coverage of school medical inspection was the main strength on S3, while focusing more on physical health and less emphasis on promoting mental health in the existing service package and gaps in the referral/follow-up were the weaknesses. On S4, school staff focusing more on achieving academic-related outcomes and focusing less on health-related activities, undue media and industry influence hindering the promotion of healthy behaviours in school settings were the main challenges. Conclusions Despite several emerging challenges, the SHP in Sri Lanka is one of the best school health programmes in the region with more than 90% island-wide coverage of health services. Key messages The SHP in Sri Lanka, which is one of the oldest and the best school health programmes in the region, caters for 70% of adolescents in the country. Assessment of Sri Lankan SHP according to the WHO’s ‘4S’ Framework revealed multiple strengths such as comprehensive national health information system and high island-wide coverage.