EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF HEALTH EDUCATION ON HEALTH KNOWLEDGE: A STUDY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Education is an accumulated experience that helps to shape human character and mind. Health education in schools is a necessity designed to develop optimum physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social health among students. Unfortunately, recent studies show that secondary school students are nowadays reckless and less conscious on issues concerning their health. Students’ unrestricted freedom and exposure to modern technologies such as: television, computer games, video games, mobile phones, Internet, access to fast foods rich in saturated fats, and driving them to school as opposed to walking or cycling is also not helping matters. The resultant effects are increased number of teenage pregnancies, obesity, HIV/AIDS, communicable diseases and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The study adopted the Survey Research design with structured questionnaire as an instrument for data collection. A total of 500 students participated in the study and data were analysed using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r). Findings revealed that there is significant relationship between health knowledge and health education amongst senior secondary school students in Cross River State. This implies that the introduction and implementation of health education programmes secondary schools have contributed immensely to the students’ increased knowledge about health related issues, which is a vehicle for proper healthy living needed for societal development.