Knowledge, Attitude and Utilization of School Health Services among Senior Secondary School Students in Egor Local Government Area, Benin City, Edo State

Abstract

Background: The knowledge of school health services among all students in various schools are essential in ensuring that students are equipped with the expected benefits and right attitude of utilizing the services. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude and utilization of school health services among senior secondary school students in Egor local government area, Edo State. Methods: Using a multistage sampling two secondary schools were selected from the thirteen public secondary schools in the Egor LGA and a sample size of 274 using Taro Yamane formula. A self-structured questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection with a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.82 which show that the instrument was reliable. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and hypotheses were tested using Pearson Correlation Coefficient at 5% significant level. Results: Findings showed that majority 150(57.6%) of the respondents have good knowledge of school health services, 80(30.5%) have fair knowledge while 31(11%) have poor knowledge.  All the respondents have a positive attitude toward school health services with an average grand mean of 3.078±0.428. However, 113.2(43.4%) have poor utilization of the school health services, 40(15.3%) have moderate while 107.8(41.3%) have high utilization. Positive correlation (p =0.01) was found between knowledge and utilization of school health services. Significant difference was found (p= 0.002; ˂0.05) in the utilization of school health services between male and female students. Conclusion: Government should ensure adequate provision of facilities, inspection and supervision of the school health services. Sensitization/Awareness campaign of school health services should be made available to all school children in the state.