Participatory school health education on vector-borne diseases: engaging children as change agents

Abstract

Vector-borne diseases contribute substantially to the global burden of diseases and disproportionately affect poor and under-served populations living in a country like India. Children can be effective change agents of health in their schools, peer groups, families and communities. We evaluated the effectiveness of participatory school health education on vector-borne diseases among 200 high school children, 100 each from government and private schools. Questions regarding vector-borne diseases, mosquito breeding sites, diseases transmitted by them and mosquito control measures were used to assess their knowledge before and after a health education intervention. Education included lecture, role play and community-based group activity. Average overall pretest score was 11.8 ± 5.03 which increased significantly to 19.3 ± 4.69 after intervention. Health education showed significant improvement in knowledge irrespective of type of school, gender or class of study. It was observed that private school children, girls and 10th class students' post-test scores were significantly better than their counter groups. Participatory school-based health education improved the knowledge of children regarding vector-borne diseases. This could be an effective medium in promoting health and possibly behavioural changes in the community. Such school-based vector-borne disease control could be applied to developing countries where there is good school enrolment and attendance.