Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge regarding Importance of Hand washing with Soap and Water among School Children in selected Rural and Urban Schools of Shimla (H.P.)

Abstract

Introduction: Eighty percentage of common infections are spread by hands. Washing hands at least five times a day has been shown to significantly decrease the frequency of infections among children. Only through right education can a better order of society be build up. Objective: The objective of the study was to compare the effectiveness of structured teaching programme on knowledge regarding importance of hand washing with soap and water among school children in selected rural and urban schools of Shimla. Methodology: A comparative research design was adopted for the study. Sample size of 60 school children (30 each from rural and urban schools) were selected using stratified random sampling technique. The self- structured knowledge questionnaire was developed and utilized for data collection and structured teaching programme was given. Results: The study results revealed that school children were having average (33.3%) and good (53.3%) level of knowledge during pre-test and post –test, knowledge was improved to very good (70%) and excellent (30%) level. There was significant association (P<0.05) between post – test knowledge score of urban group with age (in years) and class. Conclusion: The study findings revealed that structured teaching programme was effective in increasing the knowledge of school children.