Effectiveness of public health education by lecture on improving the knowledge, attitude and practices on Leptospirosis among adolescents in a public school in Manila

ABSTRACT

Abstracts@#Leptospirosis is endemic worldwide. Based on the 2016 Philippine Pediatric Society Disease Registry, there were 800 cases of leptospirosis from May 2006 to August 2016, making it a significant public health concern. Case fatality rate is about 8-9%, with increased prevalence of the disease among adults and adolescents. @*Objective@#This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of public health education through a lecture on improving the knowledge, attitude, and practice scores on leptospirosis among adolescents from grades 7-10 in a public school in Manila.@*Methodology@#This was a cross-sectional analytical study. A pre-tested, self administered questionnaire was given among 357 students in a public school in Intramuros, Manila. A lecture regarding leptospirosis was conducted and a post-test was given afterwards. Data was analyzed using paired t-test.@*Results@#A total of 357 students were included, with an 88.37% response rate. Total mean pre-test knowledge score was 88.64%, and total mean pre-test attitude score was 80.97%. For practices related to leptospirosis, the total mean pre-test score was 72.12%. Pre-test knowledge scores were compared with post-test scores. After the lecture, there was a significant increase in their knowledge on leptospirosis (p=<0.0001). There was also an improvement on post-test scores on attitude and practices regarding leptospirosis (p=<0.0001).@*Conclusion@#Public health education through a lecture was effective in increasing the knowledge, attitude, and practice scores on leptospirosis among adolescents. This may help in the prevention of the disease in the adolescent population.