Abstract

EFFECT OF INNOVATIVE SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAM ON THE STUDENT’S NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN BASIC SCHOOLS IN KHARTOUM STATE 2011-2012

Amira Y. Bushra, Sawsan M. Abdalla*, Elsadig Y. Mohamed, Abdulrahman M. Almehrij, Naseer H. AL Abdan and Afnan S. AL Sultan

ABSTRACT

Background: The school age is the age of growth and development for the children so it was important to provide complete care to prevent diseases. This generation could affect direct or indirect on the community health by distributed communicable diseases when the environment was unhealthy. In Sudan the program of school health services is running by medical and public health personnel’s and the activities focused on physical examination every year for level one, four and seven, the other components of the program was not satisfactory implemented ,and no role for the nurses were appeared in this program. The absenteeism of children in the school increase d The development of personal skills and coping practices involves the promotion of healthier behavior, particularly with respect to nutrition and physical activity, and this can be achieved by health education[3] ue to illness(3.5%), also the children looks underweight (9%).[2] A Quasi-experimental study was performed in public schools To assess the effect of innovative school health program on the student’s Nutritional Status in basic schools in Khartoum state 2011-2012. Methods and material: Quasi-experimental study non-equivalent control group, pre-post-test design was used in this study. Sample size was 344. Results: Chi-square test was done to test the whether the proportion, of nutritional status between study and control is different. Normal students in study and control group at pre test was 18(11%) vs.34 (20.1%),while in post test 15 (10.3%) , vs. 33 (21%), overweight 3 (1.8%) vs. 12 (7.1%) in pre-test, but in post test 2(1.4%) vs. 8(5.1%), underweight was seen more in study group 142 (87.1%) vs. 120 (71%) in control group in pre-test, but in post test 129 (88.4 %) in study vs. 114 (72.6) in control, while no obesity was seen in study group at post test. Conclusion: BMI calculated as categorical with 4 levels (underweight, normal, overweight, and obese). Underweight was seen higher in study group at pre and post- test, overweight and obesity was found among control group.

Keywords: Nutritional Status, Children, Basic Schools.