Health Survey of Primary School Children: Outcome and Implication for Strengthening School Health Inspection in Abraka; Delta State; Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Background: Health inspection involves physical observation of the general appearance; mouth and teeth; nose and throat; skin; ears; eyes; scalp and hair; and behavior of children at play. The objective of this study was therefore to conduct a health survey of primary school children with a view to providing relevant information with policy implication for strengthening school health inspection in Abraka; Delta State; Nigeria. Method: This is a school based cross-sectional descriptive study conducted from September 2009 to February 2010 among primary school children in Abraka selected by multistage sampling technique. The studyinstrument was a pro-forma with twenty items subdivided into two sections.Results: The outcome of health inspection of the children revealed that over half (57.1) of them had dirty nails; while 45.0; 29.8; 21.2; 18.6and 1.8of them had dirty uniform; dental caries; skin infections; dirty hair and ear discharge respectively. The association between the occurrence of dirty nails; dirty uniform; dirty hair and dental caries with the type of primary school (private or public) were statistically significant (P0.05); while the association between the occurrence of ear discharge and skin infection with the type of primary school were not statistically significant (P0.05). Conclusion: This study has revealed the poor state of affairs as regards school health inspection of primary school children in Abraka