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NIGER DELTA JOURNAL OF MEDICINE & MEDICAL RESEARCH

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Archive | ISSUE: 152, Volume: Apr-Jun-2026

PREDICTORS OF THE KNOWLEDGE, PERCEPTION AND PRACTICE OF THE SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN IKENNE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA


Author:Okoro NE,Okafor CE, Onugha BO, Chuks-Ihionu M, Agomuo CN, Adefala NO, Omotosho AY, Osinaike AO,1Odiari OA, Nwankwo NV

published date:2026-Jun-07

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Abstract

Background: The School Health Programme (SHP) was established to ensure the good health of school children and staff. Teachers are essential to the implementation of the SHP.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the knowledge, perception and practice of the SHP, and the associated factors and predictors among primary school teachers in Ikenne Local Government Area (LGA), Ogun State, Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: It was a descriptive, cross-sectional study among 220 teachers selected from 20 primary schools. The research instrument was a pretested, self-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS version 25. Univariate analysis was used to present the knowledge, perception, and practice of the SHP; bivariate analysis (Chi-Square test) was used for associations, while logistic regression was used for predictors; p-values less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results: Overall, 67.3% of the teachers had a good knowledge of the SHP, while 44.1% and 34.5% had a good perception and a good practice of the SHP respectively. Gender (p=0.003) and perception (p<0.001) were significantly associated with the perception and practice of the SHP respectively. The years of teaching experience (AOR=3.095, 95% CI=1.226-7.812, p=0.017), gender (AOR=2.926, 95% CI=1.381-6.202, p=0.005) and perception (AOR=0.233, 95% CI=0.121-0.449, p<0.001) were significant predictors of the knowledge, perception and practice of the SHP respectively.

Conclusion: The knowledge of the SHP was above average, but the perception and practice were below average. Adequate SHP training and reorientation are needed for teachers, as well as adequate SHP infrastructure in primary schools in Ikenne LGA.

Keywords: Knowledge, perception, practice, school health program, primary school teachers, predictors.

Keywords: Knowledge, perception, practice, school health program, primary school teachers

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