Adolescents In Rural Schools Research Articles

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among rural adolescent school students in Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu

Background: Obesity in children and adolescents acts as an independent risk factor in the occurrence of cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases in their adulthood.Methods: A cross sectional school based study was done among 934 students aged 14-17 years studying Class 9 to Class 12 in selected four schools of Kanchipuram district in Tamil Nadu, India.Results: Mean BMI of the study population was 17.78 (SD-3.14). 39 (8.51%) were identified as overweight and 21 as obese (4.58%) among boys. Mean BMI among girls was 18.58 and 44 (9.24%) were identified as overweight and 20 (4.20%) as obese. Among the study population 83 (8.89%) were overweight, 41 (4.4%) were obese and overall the prevalence of overweight and obesity was found to be 13.28%.Conclusions: Obesity among adolescents is increasing and requires urgent attention. Standardized BMI charts for adolescents to be prepared as per Indian standards.

Menstrual hygiene patterns and practices among rural adolescent school girls

Background: Menstruation is described as the periodic vaginal bleeding that occurs with the shedding of the uterine mucosa. Issues associated with menstruation are never discussed openly and the silence surrounding menstruation burdens young girls by keeping them ignorant of this biological function. The taboo surrounding menstruation in society prevents girls from articulating their needs and problems of poor menstrual hygiene management have been ignored or misunderstood. Implications of ignoring this issue of menstruation are serious and at times life threatening.Methods: This study is a cross-sectional observational study conducted among 217 adolescent girls studying in government high schools located in the field practice area of rural health training centre attached to the department of community medicine, Narayana Medical College, Nellore.Results: Out of 169 girls who have attained menarche, 154 (91.12%) were having periods at regular intervals. Among 154 girls with regular menstrual cycle majority (55.2%) had 28-31 day cycle. Out of 169 girls who had attained menarche at the time of study 76.9% reported that they use sanitary napkins for absorption of blood during menstruation. The most common method of disposal of material used for absorption of blood during menstruation was burning (91.7%) and 65.7% were using soap for washing private parts.Conclusions: The study concludes that majority of adolescent girls had regular menstrual cycles and majority of the respondents were using sanitary napkins.

The Tobacco Smoking among Rural Adolescents

The article presents results of study of prevalence of tobacco smoking among school adolescents carried out in rural comprehensive schools of the Kaliningrad oblast obtained within the framework of large-scale study (monitoring) of using psychoactive substances by rural school adolescents aged 15-17 years in 2016-2017 in Russia. The technique of multistage sampling was applied to select contingents of adolescents. The sampling included 1085 adolescents, including 531 boys and 554 girls. The analysis demonstrated that prevalence of tobacco smoking among rural adolescents in the Kaliningrad oblast made up to 16.8 among boys and 9.2 among girls per 100 adolescents of corresponding gender and age. Every day smoked 15.8 boys and 8.3 girls out of 100 adolescents aged 15-17 years. In comparison with data of 2013, the indicator of everyday smoking decreased on 37% among boys and on 62% among girls. Never tried to smoke 57.4% of boys and 67.5% of girls aged 15-17 years. Among those who tried continued to smoke 39.9% of boys and 28.3% of girls. The main motives of tobacco smoking are "motives of dependence". These motives were more often mentioned by boys (p>0,05).The girls in 4.3 times more often than boys smoke tobacco "for company" (p<0,05). The factors effecting "development" and "non-development" of tobacco smoking were established. Also, certain indices characterizing family of adolescent, sources of information about tobacco smoking, academic performance, spending free time and attitude of friends to tobacco smoking were analyzed. The results demonstrated that in hierarchy of factors promoting development of tobacco smoking in adolescent age first place if taken by influence of tobacco smoking friends, conditioned by psychological characteristics of adolescent age. The tobacco smoking adolescents have rather high 74%) awareness about harm of smoking. Since this information is acquired by them from separated and very often incidental sources it does not avert them from tobacco smoking.

Awareness of Reproductive Health amongst Rural School Dropout Girls

Introduction: In schools adolescents get opportunities to share personal perceptions, doubts with peers, teachers, not possible if they do not go to school. Lack of awareness, information about reproductive health might lead to problems during adolescence, future life. Objectives: To know awareness of reproductive health, among rural school dropout girls. Materials and methods: Present study was carried out in 772 rural adolescent school dropout girls, neither going to school, nor on fixed job, nor married from 53 villages near medical institute. Because of resource crunch, study visits were clubbed with nurse midwives’ visits to villages for community based maternal care. After consent information was collected by interviews in privacy, mostly at girls homes with pre-tested questionnaire, in local language by social worker. Results: Of 772, girls 760 had gone to schools, stopped, (drop outs), 12 had never gone. In 16.70% of 772 reason was financial, 20.33% said that school was far off, 20.20% were not allowed to go because they were girls, 25.51% had other reasons. 17.05% of 760 discontinued because had failed in examination, could not study, Only 58.03% of 772 girls had heard of menstruation pre menarche. Meaning of menarche was known to 41.96%. Care to be taken during menstruation was known only to 15.96% pre menarche. When menstruation occurred reaction was fear in 26.55%, anxiety in 22.40%, shyness 18.31%, irritability 13.86%. However 18.91% had no reaction, with no difference whether they knew or not. Whatever little bit girls knew, 18.97% were told by mothers. 18.97% friends, 14.73% doctors in meets/programs. Over all 58.03% had heard about contraception. Ninety (20.08)% girls had some knowledge of oral contraceptive pills, 18.97% had heard about condom. Knowledge about HIV AIDS was in 58.3%, 27.00% b from radio, 26.78% television, 23.88% by doctors. Only 38.61% knew that HIV was sexually transmitted disease. Knowledge about sexual relationship was only in seven girls. Conclusion: A wholesome approach for community based awareness encompassing basics in reproductive health is essential, more so because some rural girls never go to school many stop going early in their life due to various reasons.

A Study of the Knowledge and Practice Regarding Menstrual Hygiene in Rural Adolescent School Going Girls in an Indian Cosmopolitan City

Objective: To study the knowledge and practice regarding menstrual hygiene in rural adolescent school going girls of Achrol, Jaipur- Rajasthan. Methods and materials: It is a cross-section school based study on adolescent girls between the ages of 10-19 years of age. The study period of data collection from January 2015 to June 2016. Sampling technique: Descriptive type of observational study. Sample size: 400 adolescent school girls. Statistical measures: percentages and proportions. Results: Out of the total 400 adolescent girls, it was found that majority of the girls i.e. 85.5% were using sanitary pads, most of them belonged to middle income group. Cleaning of genitals after urination and changing pads was seen in 73.5% and 73.2% of the adolescent girls respectively. 85.5% of the girls disposed their pads in the dustbin. However there were 14.5% girls who used cloth during menstruation and washed and reused it. Conclusion: Almost 90% i.e. 85.5% of the adolescent girls used sanitary pads instead of cloth and at least 75% i.e. 73.5% practiced cleaning of genitals after urination. Though a majority of the girls were aware of the use of proper menstrual absorbent and the proper disposal of the used pads, still proper training and health education (by family members, teachers, health educators and media) should be imparted so that there won’t be any misconception regarding menstrual hygiene amongst the adolescent girls. Key words: Knowledge And Practice, Adolescent Girls, Menstrual Hygiene, Practices, Rural India.

Cross sectional study on nutritional status and prevalence of anemia in rural adolescents

Background: This study is targeted to find out the nutritional status of adolescents in rural population. Studies were done in urban areas of India on nutritional status and anemia prevalence these studies do not reveal the actual prevalence of anemia and malnutrition among adolescents in the rural areas. The purpose of this study is therefore to determine the nutritional status and prevalence of anemia in rural adolescents.Methods: Five hundred and eight rural adolescent school going and non-school going living in villages around A.V.M.C. and H., Pondicherry of age 10 to 19 years of both sexes were chosen by systemic random sampling. Migration populations were excluded from the study.Results: Among 24 Villages, of which 20 Camps were conducted and 508 Adolescents were included. The non-school going constituted 8.27% among male and 27.39% among female. Among the school going males were 42.2% and female were 30.5%. Among male, in the school going group, 33.96% in early, 36.14% of middle and 43.94% of late adolescents were under nourished, whereas in non-school going male, 50% in early, 58.33% of middle and 20% of late adolescents were under nourished. In case of female adolescent, in the school going group, 49.18% in early, 20.59% of middle and 18.42% of late adolescents were under nourished whereas in non-school going female, 14.29% in early, 36.84% of middle and 45.95% of late adolescents were under nourished. Stunting is more common among boys from 10 years of age to 14 years of age than girls. After 14 years of age stunting is more common in girls than boys. The average stunting was 46.18% in male and to 48.1% in females.Conclusions: Under nutrition was found to be a significant problem in both sexes of rural adolescents. Late adolescents were more undernourished in both sexes. Under nutrition was more common in boys than in girls. Anemia was more common in female than in male in both school going and non-school going. Anemia was more common in non-school going than in school going in both sexes. Severe anemia was more common in female of non-school going group.

Food Insecurity and Its Association With School Absenteeism Among Rural School Adolescents in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia.

Studies showed that poor health and nutrition among school adolescents are major barriers to educational access and achievements in low-income countries. This school-based study was aimed to assess the association of school absenteeism and food insecurity among rural school adolescents from grades 5 to 8 in Jimma zone, Ethiopia. Regression analyses were used to see the strength of association between dependent and independent variables using odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictor of school absenteeism. Validated tools are used to collect household food insecurity data. Results showed that school absenteeism is significantly high among adolescents from food insecure households when compared to adolescents from food secure households ( P <.001). School absenteeism was negatively associated with male sex (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = -0.91, 95% CI -1.85 to -0.03), household food security (adjusted odds ratio = -1.85, 95% CI -3.11 to -0.59), being an elder sibling (AOR = -0.37, 95% CI, -0.62 to -0.12), and mother involvement in decision making (AOR = -0.68, 95% CI, -1.33 to -0.03) while male-headed household was positively associated (AOR = 2.46, 95% CI, 1.37 to 4.56). Generally, this study showed that household food insecurity has significant contribution to school absenteeism among rural adolescents. Therefore, efforts should be made to improve household income earning capacity to reduce the prevalence of school absenteeism among rural school adolescents.

Gender Differences in Lifestyle: Results of a Survey among Indian School-going Adolescents

Gendered segregation of lifestyle issues is of central importance in identifying gender-linked priorities of health education being followed in various schools with different economic-cultural settings. Therefore, this study has examined gender differences in multiple aspects of an adolescent’s lifestyle, including dietary habits, food consumption, sleep, sports, games, physical activity, sedentary and leisure patterns through an anonymous lifestyle survey. The survey questioned 1,500 Indian school-going adolescents from 18 schools located in various rural, urban and metro areas of the country. The results indicated that female adolescents in rural schools had the least positive dietary habits, and had a limited engagement in sports or games while male school-going adolescents fared less favourably in cultural activities. Urban and metro-urban female school going adolescents reported a greater engagement in sedentary activities than their rural counterparts. Such trends would suggest a crucial need to design and implement gender-sensitive health education.

Dietary Intake among Adolescents in a Middle-Income Country: An Outcome from the Malaysian Health and Adolescents Longitudinal Research Team Study (the MyHeARTs Study).

Optimal nutrition is essential for healthy growth during adolescence. This study aims to investigate the baseline nutritional intake of Malaysian adolescents by gender, body mass index, and places of residence, both urban and rural. A cohort study was conducted consisting of 794 adolescents (aged 13-years) attending 15 public secondary schools from the Central (Kuala Lumpur and Selangor) and Northern (Perak) Regions of Peninsular Malaysia. Qualified dietitians conducted a 7-day historical assessment of habitual food intakes. Facilitated by flipcharts and household measurement tools, detailed information on portion sizes and meal contents were recorded. Nutritionist Pro™ Diet Analysis software was also used to analyze the dietary records.The mean age of the adolescents was 12.86 ± 0.33 y; the mean energy intake was 1659.0 ± 329.6 kcal/d. Males had significantly (P < .001) higher energy intake than females (1774.0 ± 369.8 vs 1595.2 ± 320.6 kcal/d); adolescents in rural schools consumed more energy and cholesterol (P < .001) compared to adolescents in urban schools (1706.1 ± 377.7 kcal/d and 244.1 ± 100.2 mg/d, respectively). Obese adolescents in rural schools consumed more energy and sugar (1987.6 ± 374.0 kcal/d and 48.9 ± 23.0 g/d) (p-value <0.001).The dietary intake of normal weight versus obese adolescents differs by the location of their school. Thus, the implementation of a structured and tailored intervention is recommended to help minimize this nutritional inequality.

Evaluation of Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Programme for adolescents in rural schools of Kannur, North Kerala, India: A cross-sectional study

Background: Iron deficiency is the major cause for anemia and widespread nutritional deficiency disorder in India. In 2013, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) Programme to reduce the prevalence and severity of nutritional anemia in adolescent population. Since it is a relatively new program, we conducted this survey to evaluate current status of the program implementation in the schools, Kannur, India. Objective: To evaluate the current status of WIFS Programme implementation in the schools of Kannur, north Kerala, India. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study carried out in schools under the rural field practice area of Community Medicine Department, Kannur Medical College, Kannur. Two schools were selected randomly for the data collection and a sample of 524 students and 39 teachers were studied for a period of 1 month. A pretested, semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was administered and descriptive statistics and associations were analyzed. Results: Out of the 524 students, 50.4% were males and 49.6% females, 77.3% of them had not consumed iron and folic acid (IFA) tablets regularly—main reasons were feeling healthy and parent’s resistance. Awareness about anemia and its symptoms was good but significant difference existed between the schools. Twenty-three percent had side effects after IFA tablets intake and common side effect was stomach pain. All 39 teachers opined WIFS Programme was useful and 90% teachers counseled the students. Fifty percent teachers told they faced resistance from parents. Conclusion: Awareness about anemia was good but WIFS implementation in schools was not regular. There is a need to strengthen the program by giving proper training to the teachers and by giving health education to the parents and students about the benefits of WIFS.

Waist Circumference and Objectively Measured Sedentary Behavior in Rural School Adolescents.

Research on relationships between lifestyle behaviors and adiposity in school youth is potentially important for identifying subgroups at risk. This study evaluates the associations between waist circumference (WC) and objective measures of sedentary behavior (SB) in a sample of rural school adolescents. The sample included 254 students (114 boys, 140 girls), 13-16 years of age, from rural regions of the Portuguese midlands. Height, weight, and WC were measured. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) was assessed with the 20-m shuttle-run test. An uniaxial GT1M accelerometer was used to obtain 5 consecutive days of physically activity (PA) and SB. Multiple linear regression was used to test associations between WC and SB, adjusted for several potential confounders (age, sex, PA, CRF, parental education). SB was not significantly associated with the WC, neither in the unadjusted model nor after adjustment for all potential confounders. In the final model, the unique significant predictor of the WC was cardiorespiratory fitness (β = -0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.02 to -0.62). WC was not independently associated with SB time in rural school adolescents. Future research is claimed among rural adolescents in different geographic contexts to try to clarify recent findings of less studied communities.

Growth and Nutritional Status of Adolescent School Girls in a Food Insecure Rural Area of Bangladesh: An Anthropometric Perspective

The present study explored the growth and nutritional status among rural adolescent school girls of food insecure Berasub district of Pabna district in Bangldesh. The study was carried out in rural adolescent school girls of 21 government approved High schools of Berasu district of Pabna district, Bangladesh. Anthropometric and socio-demographic information from 2196 adolescent girls were collected during 2011-2012 academic session. Height and weight were measured using standard procedure and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated. BMI was compared to 2007 WHO growth reference. Height- for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ) and BMI-for-age (BMIZ) were used to evaluate stunting, underweight and thinness respectively, based on the National Centre of Heath Statistics (NCHS) &lt; - 2 Z score values. Classification of severity of malnutrition was done based on WHO recommendation. Mean BMI-for-age were less than those of 2007 WHO growth reference for girls at all ages. The overall rate of stunting, underweight and thinness was 33.13%, 28.06% and 17.92% respectively. Based on WHO classification of severity of malnutrition, the overall prevalence of stunting was high (30-39%), whereas those of underweight (≥ 30) and thinness (≥ 15) were very high. The study explores that poor health and nutritional status among the adolescents indicating a major public health problem in food insecure rural areas of Bangladesh. An intensive and comprehensive approach is required to improve the nutritional status of rural adolescent girls of Bangladesh. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hjsa.v6i0.10691 Himalayan Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol.6 2014: 103-111

Knowledge and self-reported practices regarding leptospirosis among adolescent school children in a highly endemic rural area in Sri Lanka

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease, which has become a major public health threat in Sri Lanka. A majority of patients are farmers in rural endemic areas. The purpose of the present study is to describe the level of knowledge and frequencies of risky practices related to leptospirosis among a sample of rural school adolescents in Galgamuwa, Kurunegala district, a highly endemic area in Sri Lanka. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 460 adolescents studying in grades 9 and 10 of government schools. Study participants were selected using a multistage cluster sampling technique. A structured, pretested, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge on leptospirosis, and frequency of associated risky practices related to leptospirosis. The response rate was 100%. Fifty-two percent of respondents had a 'good' level of knowledge of leptospirosis. In the assessment of practices, 62% were involved in rice paddy cultivation either 'frequently' or 'rarely'. Seventy percent of the fathers and 50% of the mothers of the students were involved in paddy cultivation. Thirteen percent reported that they swam, bathed, or washed in ponds of stagnant water. Of the students involved in paddy cultivation, only 18% said they usually used gloves and boots 'frequently'. Among the 9% of students who handled cattle or buffalo, 61% reported washing their hands and feet after handling the animals. Good level of knowledge was significantly associated with involvement in paddy cultivation among the adolescents (p=0.45), fathers (p<0.001), and mothers (p=0.012). The level of knowledge was not significantly associated with practicing preventive measures for leptospirosis. Although the respondent's overall level of knowledge regarding leptospirosis was satisfactory, the study identified several important gaps in specific areas. Those who were involved or had parents involved in paddy cultivation had better knowledge. However, this knowledge was not translated into practice of personal preventive measures. Use of protective attire in paddy farming needs to be facilitated by health authorities.

GENDER AND RURAL–URBAN DIFFERENCES IN THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF IN-SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS IN SOUTH-WESTERN NIGERIA

This study assessed gender and rural/urban differences in height and weight, and the prevalence of stunting, underweight and overweight of school-going adolescents in south-west Nigeria, using 2007 WHO reference values for comparison. The influence of sexual maturity and the socio-demographic correlates of growth performance were also examined. In this cross-sectional study, 924 male (51.4%) and 875 female (48.6%) students (1799 in total) aged 10-19 years from eighteen schools in Ibadan (five rural, nine urban public and four urban private) were interviewed and examined. Although males were significantly taller than females (p<0.05), stunting was more pronounced for males, who were 7.5 cm shorter than the 2007 WHO reference, compared with females who were 3.5 cm shorter. Body mass index (BMI) for girls was also greater than for boys (p<0.05). Rural adolescents had lower heights and BMIs compared with those in urban areas. The mean height of male adolescents in rural schools fell below 2 SDs of the 2007 WHO reference between 14 and 17 years, while heights of males and females in private schools were similar to the median 2007 WHO standard. Low height-for-age was observed in 282 adolescents (15.7%), which, after multivariate analysis, was significantly associated with school type, gender, number of mother's children and puberty onset. Adolescents in rural schools were much more likely to be stunted than those in urban private schools (AOR 13.1; 95% CI 5.2-33.2) and males were three times more likely to be stunted compared with females (AOR 3.3; 95% CI 2.4-1.4). Low BMI-for-age was observed in 240 adolescents (18.9%), with correlates similar to stunting. Adolescents at the pre-puberty stage were twice as likely to have low BMI-for-age (OR 2.0; 95% CI 1.6-2.5) than those with signs of puberty. There were 2.3% overweight adolescents, who were significantly more likely to be female, in private school and post-pubertal. Innovative interventions for Nigerian adolescents, especially rural inhabitants and males, are needed to reduce the prevalence of stunting and underweight.