Effect of ‘SMART health education model’ on knowledge and attitudes of school students in rural area about ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan of India’ and sanitation practices

Abstract

Background: India has been facing various sanitation problems like open defecation, insanitary toilets, improper waste disposal, manual scavenging etc. Poor sanitation in schools, particularly rural schools are health hazards and affects school attendance, retention and educational performance. Several studies reported poor knowledge about sanitation practices among school students in India, so there is need to inculcate good sanitation practices among them. ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ is national level health campaign of India which was launched on 2nd October 2014. The present study was first study to create awareness among school students about ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ as well as sanitation practices through ‘SMART Health Education Model’.Methods: An interventional study was conducted in one of the randomly selected public schools in rural field practice area of Bharati Vidyapeeth University Medical College, Pune. The study participants were 100 students belonging to 5th and 6th class and they were exposed to structured ‘SMART Health Education Model’. Entire data from pre and post intervention questionnaire was entered into ‘Microsoft Office Excel Sheet’ and analysed by using ‘Paired t test’.Results: Significant improvement in knowledge about sanitation practices was found after applying ‘SMART Model’ (Pre-test mean marks: 4.17, post-test mean marks: 9.52, t = 24.31, p<0.001). The study reported favourable attitudes of participants towards ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’.Conclusions: It indicates that even a simple intervention like ‘SMART Model’ can make significant change in knowledge of school students about personal and environmental hygiene.

Study to assess knowledge, perception and practices regarding Swachh Bharat Abhiyan among rural people of Nalgonda district in Telangana state

“…91.30% of the subjects wanted to participate in SBA according to Utpat et al study. 10 Our study found that majority (81.8%) of the literates, compared to illiterates felt that people must actively participate in SBA and this was found to be statistically significant (p=0.005). This could be due to the fact that literates were having better level of understanding regarding objectives of SBA and importance of environmental hygiene.…”

“…9 In another study conducted by Utpat et al in Pune, it was found that 80.43% subjects thought that there is need of SBA and 72.82% felt that SBA is effective. 10 These findings reflects the positive perception of the community towards SBA. Current study revealed that 77.45% of the study subjects thought that all the people must actively participate in SBA activities.…”

The perception of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and attitude towards cleanliness among dental students of Kanpur city: A cross-sectional study

“…found that 91.30% of the subjects wanted to participate in SBA. [ 9 ] Results of this study showed that majority of the participants agreed with the importance of their participation in SBA activities…”

“…He found that 91.30% of students agreed with that their participation is necessary for SBA. [ 9 ] This study showed that the majority of the participants agreed that the contribution at an individual level is important in SBA.…”

Study on the perception of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and attitude towards cleanliness among the residents of urban Jodhpur

“…This shows that participants have positive perception of SBA, which is also in consonance with other similar studies done in other states of India. [10]…”