School Based Interventions to Enhance Community Behaviour towards Prevention of Malaria and Dengue in North Chennai

Abstract

Schools are an integral part of the community and school children play an active role as health messengers and can mobilize the local community toward the prevention of mosquito bone diseases The study aimed to evaluate the influence of school based educational interventions on behaviour change of the community towards malaria and dengue prevention in endemic areas of North Chennai A quasi experimental study design with multi stage sampling technique was used to recruit 284 students from ninth to twelfth class and 852 households Educational interventions delivered through power point lectures demonstration of larvae group activities and awareness programs in schools and regular cleaning of water storage containers and destruction of breeding sites in and around the houses through student messengers Data was collected through a self administered questionnaire and face to face interview The results revealed overall post intervention mean scores of knowledge 48 point 51 plus or minus 4 point 86 were higher than pre intervention scores 25 point 58 plus or minus 6 point 69 with a significant mean difference of 22 point 92 at 0 point 05 level A significant mean difference 53 point 2 was observed for overall household behaviour scores from pre intervention to post intervention II at 0 point 001 level The overall household entomological indices reduced drastically for House Premises Index from 12 point 2 to 0 point 3 percent Container Index 5 point 9 to 0 point 2 percent Breteau index 12 point 2 to 0 point 3 percent and Pupal index 54 point 9 to 1 point 2 percent after the interventions The study concluded that school based educational interventions were helpful to mobilize the parents and local community in malaria and dengue prevention interventions through student messengers newline newline newline