Involving School Children Research Articles

Factors influencing health-related quality of life of children with overweight and obesity in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

ABSTRACT Introduction: Overweight and obesity among children may have psychological consequences, with potentially lasting effects on health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The aims of this study were to compare HRQOL across weight status among children and to determine the factors influencing HRQOL among children with overweight and obesity. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved school children aged 9–16 years that were recruited from eight randomly selected primary and secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur. The validated Malay version of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) was used to measure HRQOL. Complex sample general linear model was used to determine the significant factors associated with HRQOL among children with overweight and obesity. Results: From 928 students, 41.2% (n = 375) of them had either overweight or obesity. Children with obesity reported lower overall HRQOL, physical functioning, social functioning, and psychosocial health summary, compared to normal weight children. In the final model, children with obesity had significantly lower HRQOL and physical functioning compared to children who were overweight, while those who lived with a single parent reported poorer HRQOL compared to children who lived with both parents. Children with history of being bullied had lower HRQOL and psychosocial health. Whereas those with lower self-esteem reported significantly lower scores in all three domains. Conclusion: Overweight and obesity have negative impacts on HRQOL of children. Among children with overweight and obesity, factors such as degree of obesity, family structure, history of being bullied, and self-esteem were found to be significantly associated with HRQOL. Therefore, assessing and managing HRQOL should be included as a part of the obesity prevention programme.

Soil-Transmitted Helminths: Prevalence and the Effect of Deworming in Children in Mutengene, South West Region, Cameroon

Soil-transmitted helminthes (STH) (A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura and hookworms) constitute a significant public health problem globally. These infections are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas and their transmission is highly dependent on the degree to which the environment is contaminated with infectious stages and the amount of contact between human hosts and polluted soil. There are three main intervention strategies for controlling STH infections including ant-helminthic drug treatment (deworming), improved sanitation and health education. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of STH and assess the effects of de-worming among children 4 to 15 years old in Mutegene.
 It was a cross-sectional study, involving school children of both sexes. A systematic random sampling method was used to collect data. Basic demographic data was obtained from the class registers. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information. Stool samples were collected, transported to the laboratory for macroscopic and microscopic analysis. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21 and the Chi-square test.
 The result obtained showed an overall prevalence of 3.6% (n=9) with the most frequent species being Trichuris trichiura 2.4% (n=6) followed by Hookworm 0.8% (n= 2) and the least was Ascaris lumbricoides 0.4 %(n=1). On the impact of de-worming, out of the 9 infected cases, seven (7) indicated that they had not taken worm medicines (neither albendazole nor mebendazole), one (1) did not know and only one (1) infected person was among those that had been de-wormed before. This showed that the deworming process had a positive impact in eliminating helminthiasis.
 In conclusion, the low prevalence could be explained by the prior de-worming of children. It was recommended that continuous health education should be given through community radios and television as a means of making the people understand the mode of transmission and methods of prevention of STH infection better.

A Comprehensive Review and Analysis of Intestinal Parasitic Infections in School Children from South India

Background and Aim: According to the World Health Organization, close to 21% of India’s population may be affected by intestinal parasites, accounting for 39 million disability-adjusted life years, which may likely be due to substandard sanitation practices and insufficient personal hygiene standards. This research was conducted with the aim of determining the prevalence of helminthic infections among school-aged children in the South Canara district of India. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving school children from nursery to the 8th Grade in the South Canara district of Karnataka, India. The presence of various intestinal parasites in different age groups was determined by performing routine stool microscopy. Modified acid-fast staining was performed for stool samples collected from children <5 years of age for the detection of intestinal coccidian parasites. Statistical analysis was carried out to analyze age-related trends in relation to the prevalence of commonly detected intestinal parasites. Results: Intestinal parasites were identified in 10 of the 253 students (3.9%), with the highest incidence observed in the age group of 7–10 years (1.9%). The most prevalent parasite identified was the cysts of Giardia lamblia, with a prevalence of 7.54%, followed by Ascaris lumbricoides and hookworm, each having a prevalence of 5.66%. Of the 253 students, 92.2% practiced handwashing with soap after defecation, while 7.8% did not use soap. The handwashing practices did not significantly vary across different age groups. Clinically, pallor was observed in 64.2% of the individuals. Conclusion: Giardiasis was the most common parasitic infection, followed by soil-transmitted helminths such as Ascariasis and hookworm. The level of hygiene practices among children exceeded the prevailing national and state standards.

The Representativeness of Outdoor Particulate Matter Concentrations for Estimating Personal Dose and Health Risk Assessment of School Children in Lisbon.

This study investigated the suitability of outdoor particulate matter data obtained from a fixed monitoring station in estimating the personal deposited dose. Outdoor data were retrieved from a station located within the urban area of Lisbon and simulations were performed involving school children. Two scenarios were applied: one where only outdoor data were used assuming an outdoor exposure scenario, and a second one where an actual exposure scenario was adopted using the actual microenvironment during typical school days. Personal PM10 and PM2.5 dose (actual exposure scenario) was 23.4% and 20.2% higher than the ambient (outdoor exposure scenario) PM10 and PM2.5 doses, respectively. The incorporation of the hygroscopic growth in the calculations increased the ambient dose of PM10 and PM2.5 by 8.8% and 21.7%, respectively. Regression analysis between the ambient and personal dose showed no linearity with R2 at 0.07 for PM10 and 0.22 for PM2.5. On the other hand, linear regression between the ambient and school indoor dose showed no linearity (R2 = 0.01) for PM10 but moderate (R2 = 0.48) for PM2.5. These results demonstrate that ambient data must be used with caution for the representativeness of a realistic personal dose of PM2.5 while for PM10 the ambient data cannot be used as a surrogate of a realistic personal dose of school children.

CYBERBULLYING IN MALAYSIA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE EXISTING LAWS

Cyberbullying incidents have shocked the world, particularly the infamous suicide incident in 2012 involving a 15-year-old victim, Amanda Todd, in Canada. Malaysia is currently facing the same issue and two suicide cases of cyberbullying victims involving school children were reported in 2019 and 2020. The global statistics among 28 countries indicated that Malaysia was ranked sixth in the world and second among the Asia countries in cyberbullying. As such, this paper aims to identify the law regulating such incidents in Malaysia. The methodology used in this paper is library research by referring to legislation, journals, books, conference papers, newspapers, and other periodicals. It was observed that there is no existing legal provision specifically to tackle on cyberbullying cases in Malaysia. Therefore, a new law is needed to address the issues of cyberbullying.

Evaluation of School Children Crossing Facilities and Traffic Conflicts in The Vicinity of Schools in Selangor

Half of the world’s road traffic deaths involve vulnerable road users—pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists. In Malaysia, there are several strategies introduced to improve the road safety level of school children. However, crashes involving school children are still worrisome. Recent trends of school children involved in crashes in school vicinity have become the nation’s concern. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the contributing factors of pedestrian-vehicle conflict involving school children in vicinity of the school. This study focused on the utilization of the facilities provided at school, exposure measures, and demographic characteristics of the schools. The facilities that are being considered in this study are; a zebra crossing, pedestrian bridge, drop-off, and pick-up zone, and the presence of a traffic warden. A total of 57 schools in Selangor were assessed for this study. The important variables were analyzed using the Negative Binomial Regression model to identify the significant attributes. Non-parametric analysis was used to compare the differences in characteristics of the schools. The findings of the study conclude that the road type and pedestrian volume are the underlying factors that would increase pedestrian-vehicle conflict in the school vicinity.

Effect of School-Based Educational Interventions on the Knowledge of Malaria and Dengue Among Higher Secondary School Children in Chennai, India: A Pre and Post-intervention Study.

Introduction: School children are a means to reach and sensitize the community on the prevention of seasonal diseases such as malaria and dengue. The current study aims to determine the impact of school-based educational interventions on the knowledge of students toward the prevention and control of malaria and dengue in higher secondary schools.Methods: This pre- and post-intervention study was conducted in three higher secondary schools in Zone IV, North Chennai, from September to December 2021. A total of 284 students in the age group of 13-17 years participated in the study. School-based educational interventions were delivered through PowerPoint-assisted lectures, participatory group activities, and demonstration of mosquito larvae and their control. The impact of the interventions as the change in knowledge level was analyzed using McNemar’s test, with a p-value of <0.05.Results: Educational interventions led to the improvement in knowledge about malaria symptoms, such as fever (43.7% to 76.1%; p<0.001), chills (45.1% to 82.4%; p<0.001), and headache (46.1% to 86.6%; p<0.001), and the knowledge of Aedes mosquito bites as the cause of dengue transmission enhanced (41.9% to 92.2%; p<0.001). Similarly, there was an increase in knowledge on the identification of vector mosquito breeding sites inside the house (11.9% to 67.9%; p<0.001) and outside the house (10.9% to 69.7%; p<0.001) and mosquito net usage (21.5% to 76.1%; p<0.001) after the interventions.Conclusion: School-based educational interventions had a significant impact on enhancing the knowledge on the prevention and control of malaria and dengue among school children. Involving school children can strengthen existing malaria and dengue prevention and control strategies in endemic areas.

La revue systématique et autres types de revue de la littérature : qu’est-ce que c’est, quand, comment, pourquoi ?

Malaria is difficult to control in central India because of geographical terrain, efficient vectors, and perennial transmission of Plasmodium falciparum and socio-cultural practices of ethnic tribes. The objective was to develop a model to prevent and control malaria in hard to reach areas using existing tools. Baigachak (Tribe population 31,900) situated in Dindori district was undertaken for this study. Intervention measures used are indoor residual spray (IRS), long lasting insecticide treated bed nets (LLINs), prompt diagnosis and treatment along with intensive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) involving school children as agent of change. Door to door rapid fever surveys were carried out in the study area from 2009 to 14 and finger prick blood smears were made from all fever cases and examined under microscope. Mosquitoes were assayed for the presence of sporozoites by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique and sibling species by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). There are two highly efficient vectors i.e. Anopheles culicifacies and An. fluviatilis. In monsoon season of 2009, the man hour density for An. culicifacies was 36.2 which declined to 10.9 during monsoon season of 2010-14 (t = 6.52; p < 0.0001). Epidemiological results revealed that malaria positivity was declined from 27% in 2009–3% in 2014 (Trend chi2 = 57.21; p < 0.0001) and P. falciparum declined from 23.6 to 2.4% (Trend chi2 = 48.33; p < 0.0001). Spleen rate was declined from 47% in 2009–5% in 2014 (χ2 for trend = 6.1; p = 0.0135). Baigachak has achieved a remarkable 89% reduction in malaria. This study confirms that the control strategies undertaken in this study are useful and should be extended at multiple sites for further validation.

Compliance of spectacle wear among school children.

Purpose:In India, school eye screening is an important component of the National Programme for the Control of Blindness providing spectacles free of cost to children from primary section. The primary aim of this study was to know the compliance of wearing spectacles provided during school screening program and to find out reasons for noncompliance. The secondary aim of this study was to get information regarding the types of modifications required in the school eye screening program to improve the compliance level.Methods:It was a cross-sectional follow-up study involving school children of age group 10–16 years, class 5–9 from different parts of the country. Public or private schools were randomly selected based on their distance from the base hospitals/partner organizations. Data were collected by standard format directly from the students after informed written consent from school principal or class teacher.Results:The utilization of spectacles was found to be only 29.8% (n = 289) within 2 years of receiving the spectacles. Thirty-five percent (n = 108) students were using spectacles with less than 0.75 D. Appearance of the frame was a deciding factor. It was observed that the frames provided by the DBCS were especially not liked by the children. Twenty-five percent (n = 79) children were found to be wearing adult frames.Conclusion:Less than a third of the students were compliant with their spectacle prescription in this study. To improve the compliance, children should not be prescribed spectacles for nonsignificant refractive errors, should be given choices for frames and quality of work being conducted under school screening program needs a review.

Health literacy and increasing level of health knowledge: Ethnographic analysis of the role of school children / young people in the development of health literacy in families

Abstract Background The contribution of school children and young people to the development of health literacy (HL) within families is little studied in Cameroon, where the majority of parents have low level of literacy skills. Also, they are the most exposed to the risks of poor health status (OMS 2019), because they experience enormous difficulties in terms of ability to seek and access health information, understand, interpret, evaluate it critically, and to use it in a way that promotes health. While it is known that school children and young people bring information into their families that can improve their parents' quality of life and health knowledge, they are rarely involved in actions of development and promotion of health literacy. Methods This study combines a quantitative approach apprehending the contribution of Cameroonians school children and young people to the promotion of HL within families, as regards the methods and means used, and a qualitative design research targeting the experience of this contribution. The study concerned 150 families with school children and young people attending primary and secondary school. Results The results show the specific actions, means and practical methods that school children and young people use to develop and promote HL in their families. Also, the results indicate that school children and youth help parents to increase their level of health knowledge, and to improve their level of HL skills, while reducing social inequalities in health. Conclusions The study suggests a recognition, at the level of health policies, of the importance of involving school children and young people in the development of HL in families exposed to literacy without schooling; the need to lay special emphasis in schools on knowledge related to HL, in order to better equip school children with useful skills beneficial to them and their families.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON MEDIA LITERACY (CE: ML) ECOSYSTEM: TOWARDS QUINTUPLE HELIX COLLABORATION AND RURAL SUSTAINABILITY

Current development in the usage of media and the Internet proved that community members are increasingly exposed to various gadgets and media applications, which undoubtedly can have positive and negative impacts on their lives. Yet, despite interest in and the emergence of examples of inspirational community engagement and the increasing usage of media among citizens, relatively little is known about the scale as well as the ecosystems of the emerging media literacy of Malaysian rural citizens. The objective of this research is to identify the important elements in conducting community engagement on media literacy programs in the rural community. A program which is called “Community Engagement on Media Literacy” (CE: ML) has been designed to assist the community members in utilizing the media in their daily lives. This program is a collaboration between faculty members and students of a university and committee members of a mosque in the northern district of Malaysia. The community selected is one large community area in the northern state containing about 3,000 members. This area is unique since it covers rural and sub-urban areas containing seven villages and five structured residential areas of low-to-middle-income families. Researchers were directly involved with the media literacy program, hence get a better chance to observe the processes of CE: ML. The program took two months to be completed, from February until April 2019. Altogether, 18 activities have been conducted, which mostly involved school children and youth ranging from 6 to 18 years old. Based on observation method, 15 elements of CE: ML ecosystem have been identified, namely Coordination, Communication, Contents Creation, Stakeholders Support, Location, Supporting Facilities, Targeted audience and their willingness to participate, Funding and Costing, Risk, Scheduling, Spirit of Volunteerism, Development of Soft skills, Multi-racial and International Unity, Training of trainers and Visibility and promotion of programs. At the time of the implementation, CE: ML was designed on double helix collaboration, merging two actors – university and the local community. Hence, based on the actual experience, CE: ML program can be improved to be extended to “quintuple helix” collaboration involving the university, government, private sector, local community, and the environment.

Effect of a theory-based hand hygiene educational intervention for enhancing behavioural outcomes in Ghanaian schools: a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

The study sought to determine whether a hand hygiene educational intervention underpinned by educational and psychosocial theories is effective in enhancing behavioural intention and proper handwashing practices among school children. The study was a cluster-randomised controlled trial, with schools constituting the clusters. At baseline, 717 pupils organised in four clusters were recruited. Techniques for data collection included a structured observation. The Student's t test was used for data analysis. At follow-up, a statistically significant difference was observed between the study arms with regard to intention to wash hands with soap [after toilet use (p = 0.032, d = 0.5); before meals (p = 0.020, d = 0.2)]. Similarly, a statistically significant difference was identified between the study arms with regard to the practice of handwashing with soap (HWWS) [after toilet use (p = 0.005); before meals (p = 0.012)]. A theory-driven hand hygiene educational intervention involving school children can have a medium to a very large effect size, with respect to the practice of HWWS, and a low to a medium effect size with respect to behavioural intention.

Assessment of early orthodontic treatment need and its relationship with sociodemographic characteristics among Tanzanian children using index for preventive and interceptive orthodontic treatment need

Background: Early orthodontic treatment (EOT) aims at identifying and intervening occlusal conditions in primary and early-mixed dentition. Aim: This study aimed at assessing EOT need and its relationship with sociodemographic characteristics using the index for preventive and interceptive orthodontic treatment needs (IPION) among schoolchildren in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Study Setting and Design: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among schoolchildren aged 6 and 9 years. Materials and Methods: Schoolchildren were selected by multistage cluster sampling technique. Questionnaires were used to obtain sociodemographic information; clinical examinations were done to record schoolchildren's IPION scores. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using a computer software, SPSS version 20.0. Chi-square test was used for assessing statistical differences between variables; P value was set at P Results: A total of 667 schoolchildren were involved (59.5% girls; 52.5% 9-year-olds). In 6-year-olds, 77.9% had caries, and in 9-year-olds, 60% had caries. Lower-second primary molars were the most common prematurely lost teeth. Increased overjet was the most frequently recorded occlusal anomaly. Many 9-year-old boys than girls had caries (67.4% vs. 55.5%, P = 0.032). Six-year-olds with mothers who were homemakers compared to those with employed mothers experienced caries (81.7% vs. 71.0%, P = 0.034). Overall, 67.2% and 41.7% of the participants had EOT need and definite EOT need, respectively. Conclusion: EOT need for malocclusions was high in the involved school children, these will thus benefit from preventive and interceptive orthodontic treatment programs.

Review of Gathering Data Instruments and Methods in Children Research

Introduction: It is observed that people of different age groups might have different response to the same situation. Often in researches, involving school children data is collected from a guardian rather than from children. Traditional data collection methods like focus group, questionnaires, interviews and observations sometimes have been found to be ineffective with children and hence researchers are compelled to collect data from alternative sources. Conversely, studies have reported that children too have strong opinions and it could be different from their guardian’s. Hence, the purpose of this research is to critically review previous literature regarding focus group method comparing with other methods that used in conducting research with children with particular emphasis on children studies. Methodology: Current and archival data from research papers have been analysed in this study. Findings: The study reports that the practical considerations and the time it takes to conduct focus group research may discourage many from attempting to collect data using this method. Contribution: This study recommends that adequate effort should be put in place to design suitable instruments to conduct research with children that is devoid of most of the shortcoming found in earlier studies.

Green school audit of twenty two schools in Pune city

Background: The Green school audit is a tool designed to help school communities to audit their use of natural resources. It provides schools with the methodology to become environmental managers by assessing themselves. Green school audit was part of green games initiatives of commonwealth youth games Pune 2008 with objective to carry out environmental audit of schools involving school children. Methods: The programme was carried out from March 2008 to October 2008 as a part of Green Games initiative of Commonwealth Youth Games. Twenty two schools voluntarily participated in this programme. Four medical students per school and one teacher from the Department of Community Medicine were posted per school to train one school teacher and twenty five school children about the audit. Each school was provided with a Green School manual; a do it yourself (DIY) guide that helped students to assess the five key elements that comprises their school’s environment namely air, water, land, energy and waste. Results: 15 schools were in green zone for air audit, 9 schools were in green zone for water audit, 11 schools were in green zone for land audit, 13 schools were in green zone for waste audit and 10 schools were in green zone for energy audit. Conclusions: This assessment helped each participating school to identify where it currently stood and where it should be with regard to the environmental standards prescribed in the manual. This is a learning programme for students helping them to develop environmentally conscious attitudes and ultimately a responsible behavior.

Malaria control in a tribal area of central India using existing tools

Malaria is difficult to control in central India because of geographical terrain, efficient vectors, and perennial transmission of Plasmodium falciparum and socio-cultural practices of ethnic tribes. The objective was to develop a model to prevent and control malaria in hard to reach areas using existing tools. Baigachak (Tribe population 31,900) situated in Dindori district was undertaken for this study. Intervention measures used are indoor residual spray (IRS), long lasting insecticide treated bed nets (LLINs), prompt diagnosis and treatment along with intensive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) involving school children as agent of change. Door to door rapid fever surveys were carried out in the study area from 2009 to 14 and finger prick blood smears were made from all fever cases and examined under microscope. Mosquitoes were assayed for the presence of sporozoites by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique and sibling species by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). There are two highly efficient vectors i.e. Anopheles culicifacies and An. fluviatilis. In monsoon season of 2009, the man hour density for An. culicifacies was 36.2 which declined to 10.9 during monsoon season of 2010-14 (t = 6.52; p < 0.0001). Epidemiological results revealed that malaria positivity was declined from 27% in 2009–3% in 2014 (Trend chi2 = 57.21; p < 0.0001) and P. falciparum declined from 23.6 to 2.4% (Trend chi2 = 48.33; p < 0.0001). Spleen rate was declined from 47% in 2009–5% in 2014 (χ2 for trend = 6.1; p = 0.0135). Baigachak has achieved a remarkable 89% reduction in malaria. This study confirms that the control strategies undertaken in this study are useful and should be extended at multiple sites for further validation.

Long term effect of a school based intervention to prevent chronic diseases in Tunisia, 2009-2015.

We aimed to evaluate the long term effect of school based intervention to prevent non- communicable disease risk factors. It was a quasi experimental study conducted during the period of 2009-2015. We involved school children aged from 11 to 16 years old. For the assessment of the program's effectiveness, subjects in both groups were examined at baseline, at the end of the 3-year intervention period and at the follow-up, one year after program's cessation. In the intervention group, the prevalence of school children who reported to be eating 5 fruits and vegetable sdaily increased significantly from 30.0% at pre-assessment to 33.2% at post-assessment, one year after (p=0.02, p=0.41 respectively). For the control group, this prevalence had significantly decreased from 40.2% at baseline to 35.0% at post-intervention, at the follow up, this proportion increased to 44.5%(p=0.001, p<10-3 respectively). Concerning smoking habits, we observed a decreasing trend in the intervention group from 5.7% at pre-assessment, to 4.8% at post-assessment and to 3.4% at the follow-up (p=0.19 and p=0.25 respectively). There was also a significant decrease in school children who did recommended physical activity in the same group. The present work showed that interventions promoting healthy lifestyles should be maintained. Developing countries should be encouraged and supported to design, conduct, and evaluate robust preventive interventions.

National 10-year trend in road injuries involving school children on the way to and from school in Japan, 2003-2012.

To quantitatively describe the recent longitudinal trend in road injuries involving school children while commuting to and from school in Japan and to identify groups or situations with particularly large or small decreasing trends. Data on the number of children aged 6-15 years who sustained road injuries while commuting were obtained, stratified by year, demographic characteristics, mode of transport and other variables. The rates of killed or seriously injured (KSI) children were calculated from the number of KSI cases (the numerator) and the product of population and the proportion of each mode of transport estimated using the Person Trip Survey data (the denominator). We conducted descriptive analyses of the longitudinal trend in KSI rates stratified by the variables, and Poisson regression analyses were employed to quantify the annualised changes in the rates. During the study period, 166 children were killed and 8484 children were seriously injured; the KSI rate decreased approximately 30%. The KSI rate was almost 10 times higher among cyclists than pedestrians. In cyclists, the decrease in the KSI rate among children aged 12-15 years was smaller in boys than in girls (estimated change -14% vs -30%). The KSI rate of male pedestrians aged 6-7 years was larger than female and older pedestrians, with a large decrease of 48%. Although the overall rate of road injuries among children while commuting was decreasing, cyclists were at a much greater risk than pedestrians, and the improvements for cyclists occurred at a slower pace.

Influence of Occlusal Disorders, Food Intake and Oral Hygiene Habits on Dental Caries in Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: Dental caries is one of the most common oral diseases affecting children and adolescents. The complex multifactorial etiology of caries involves the host’s characteristics (saliva and tooth enamel), the oral microflora (bacterial plaque), and the substrate (oral hygiene and diet). The aim of the present epidemiologic study was to calculate the DMFT (Decayed, Missed, Filled Teeth) index and to investigate the association between carious lesions with malocclusions, cariogenic food intake and oral care habits in 12-year-old schoolchildren in Southern Italy. Materials and methods: The study sample involved school children attending the 2-year secondary school (corresponding to the eighth grade) of state-funded schools in Naples, in the South of Italy. Children were examined to detect dental caries and occlusal variables; moreover, a questionnaire to find out food and oral hygiene habits was obtained. The association among occlusion variables, oral health, dietary habits, and caries was statistically assessed with the one-way ANOVA, the odds ratio and the χ2 (Chi-Squared test) tests for evaluating the significance. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results: The study showed a lack of association between diet and oral hygiene and caries prevalence in 12-yearold boys and girls, on the contrary, there was a positive association between crossbite and caries. Conclusion: Positive relationship was found between dental caries, parents’ socioeconomic status and crossbite, whereas carious lesions, food intake, oral hygiene and the other type of occlusal disorder did not reveal any significant association.

Accuracy of visual assessment by school teachers in school eye screening program in delhi.

Background:Although school eye screening is a major activity of the National Program for Control of Blindness, inadequate evidence exists about accuracy of school teachers in screening.Objectives:Compare quality of referral for subnormal vision by school teachers and primary eye care workers (PECW) in school children and to establish appropriate cutoff for identification of subnormal vision in school going children.Materials and Methods:This was a cross-sectional study involving school children studying in classes 1 to 9 in different schools of Delhi evaluated for sub-normal vision. Vision was recorded by the teacher and a primary eye care worker especially trained for the study using the optotypes of Early treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Survey (ETDRS) vision chart with standard lighting.Results:The total number of children enlisted in the 20 selected schools was 10,114. Of these, 9838 (97.3%) children were examined in the study. The mean age of children enrolled in the study was 11.6 ± 2.19 years with 6752 (66.9%) males. The sensitivity and specificity of teachers in comparison to PECW using 6/9.5 vision level as cutoff for referral was 79.2% and 93.3%, respectively compared to 77.0% and 97.1%, respectively on using the 6/12 optotype. The results showed significantly higher sensitivity and lower specificity for private schools against government schools and for older against younger children.Conclusions:Our results show that the use of teachers and shift to use of the 6/12 sized “E” for the school eye screening (SES) program is appropriate and would substantially reduce the work of eye care providers while improving its overall efficiency.