Effectiveness of Child to Child Programme on Knowledge Regarding Management of Minor Ailments among School Children

Background: Suffering from minor ailments is the most frequent episode in childhood experiences. A productive and energetic population cannot grow from unhealthy children who are chronically affected by repeated minor ailments. The school children could be equipped with the right knowledge in managing the ailments encountered in their day to day life through the child to child programme.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of child to child programme in increasing the knowledge of school children regarding management of minor ailments among in selected schools of Udupi taluk.

Materials and Method: The present quasi experimental study was conducted among 50 school children(25 experimental and 25 control group) selected by simple random sampling from English medium schools of Udupi taluk. The demographic proforma and structured knowledge questionnaire was used to collect data. Child to child programme conducted in 1:1 ratio to the younger children.

Results: The results showed that majority of the children had average knowledge on management of minor ailments in the pretest both for the control group 24(96%) and experimental group 23(92%). A significant difference was found between the mean pretest and post test knowledge scores of the experimental group (t=11.294, p<0.05). The mean posttest scores of the experimental and control group (t = 11.29, p<0.05)was significantly different.

Conclusion: The study concluded that the child to child programme was effective in bringing the desired changes in the knowledge of the school children.