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Eby Aluckal
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P2.10 - Prevention and Tobacco Control (ID 176)
- Event: WCLC 2019
- Type: Poster Viewing in the Exhibit Hall
- Track: Prevention and Tobacco Control
- Presentations: 1
- Now Available
- Moderators:
- Coordinates: 9/09/2019, 10:15 - 18:15, Exhibit Hall
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P2.10-10 - Impact of School Based Anti-Tobacco Education for Knowledge Enhancement Among High School Children of Ernakulam City, India (Now Available) (ID 1723)
10:15 - 18:15 | Presenting Author(s): Eby Aluckal
- Abstract
Background
Tobacco is considered to be the single largest cause of premature death, which kills more than 6 million people globally every year. The mortality due to tobacco is more than that associated with tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and malaria combined. The state of Kerala, located in the south west corner of India, also suffers from the tobacco menace in spite of its high literacy and better health care systems. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey reports that the prevalence of any form of tobacco use in Kerala among the adult male population is 35.5%. GYTS also pointed out that second hand smoke exposure was found among one in five students at homes, where others smoked. This study was conducted to understand the extent of knowledge pertaining to tobacco before and after conducting awareness programs in schools of Ernakulam city of central Kerala, India.
Method
The study was conducted in the Ernakulam city of Ernakulam District located in the central part of Kerala, India. A multistage cluster sampling design was adopted for selecting the study units. In Ernakulam Educational District, there are 27 Government, 57 Private aided and 14 private unaided schools. In the initial phase, giving an adequate representation, from these 18 schools was selected randomly (5 Government, 10 private aided and 3 private unaided schools). From each school, 2 divisions were randomly selected in the next stage. A cross-sectional study was conducted in these 18 schools (36 divisions with a sample population of more than 1000 high school children) using a pretested semi structured questionnaire where in, students tobacco use, knowledge on tobacco hazards before and after delivering anti-tobacco messages, were collected. The data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS software version 16.
Result
The overall prevalence of students who reported users of tobacco in the current academic year was 7.2% (95% CI 5.74–8.72). Knowledge assessment scores revealed a statistically significant increase in the mean knowledge scores after post training evaluation (mean score = 9.84) when compared to pre training evaluation (mean score = 7.85). The age-wise comparison of knowledge scores during both pre and post evaluations showed significant difference between the age groups (p>0.05).
Conclusion
Adolescent health education, targeting tobacco in particular, should be implemented in schools and has to be continued systematically. Apart from anti-tobacco awareness programs, strict monitoring of tobacco products trade near educational institutions has to be conducted consistently to curb this tobacco menace.
