Effectiveness of structured educational modules for primary school teachers on the knowledge and skills in identification of common mental health problems in selected schools of Bangalore District

Abstract

<p>Session presented on Monday, July 27, 2015:</p> <p>INTRODUCTION: The teacher plays a significant role in the promotion of the health of the children. Teachers spend most of the school hours with children and are familiar with them. They can detect the signs and symptoms of common mental health problems at the earliest in the classroom setting. It is estimated that out of 51 lakh children (6-11 years of age), approximately 5 lakh (9.8 %) children suffer from mental health problems in KaRNaka. But there is no organized school mental health programme for teachers in KaRNaka. There is no record of active participation of teachers in the school mental health programme in Anekal Taluk. However there are opportunistic school health programme, in Taluks. There are no full time school health nurses assigned to these schools.</p> <p>NEED FOR THE STUDY: Children under 15 years of age constitute 40% of the total population. The world Health Organization had declared that one in five children in the world is challenged. It is a 'serious obstacle to a child's development'. In developed countries such as United States, prevalence rate for childhood chronic illness and disabilities has been estimated at 10%. Prevalence rate of 20 to 33% of psychiatric disorder in school children has been reported in an Indian setting. Among them learning disorders constitute 3-7 %, which includes use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, measuring or mathematical abilities. In this context, the importance of a teacher becomes vital in safeguarding and promoting the mental health of children and early identification of deviations from normal.</p> <p>STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: A study to assess the effectiveness of structured educational modules for primary school teachers on the knowledge and skills in identification of common mental health problems in selected schools of Bangalore district.</p> <p>OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: To determine the pre-test knowledge and skills of the subjects in identification of common mental health problems of primary school children. To administer Structured Educational Modules I and II on knowledge and skills related to identification of common mental health problems of primary school children. To assess the post-test knowledge and skills of the subjects in identification of common mental health problems of primary school children. To find out the effectiveness of Structured Educational Modules I [ST + SIM] and II [SIM] between the Experimental Groups I and II and compare with Control Group [no intervention] of the subjects in identification of common mental health problems of primary school children. To measure the co-relation between knowledge and skills of the subjects in identification of common mental health problems of primary school children. To know the association between pre-test and post-test knowledge and skills scores with the socio demographic variables of the subjects in identification of common mental health problems of primary school children.</p> <p>RESEARCH HYPOTHESES: H 1 : There is a significant difference in the mean pre and post-test scores of the subjects exposed to Structured Educational Module I. H 2 : There is a significant difference in the mean pre and post-test scores of the subjects exposed to Structured Educational Module II. H 3 : There is a significant difference in the mean pre and post-test scores of the control group not exposed to intervention. H 4 : There is a significant difference in the mean pre and post-test scores between Group I and Group II who are exposed to Structured Educational Modules I and II with that of Control Group not exposed to Structured Educational Modules I or II on knowledge and skills of the subjects in identification of common mental health problems of primary school children. H 5 : There is a significant association between pre and post-test knowledge and skills scores with the socio-demographic variables of the subjects in identification of common mental health problems of primary school children. CONCEPTUAL</p> <p>FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY: The conceptual framework of the study is based on the context, input, process and product (CIPP) model of Stufflebeam.</p> <p>REVIEW OF LITERATURE: The literature gathered from extensive review was classified systematically as follows in order to ensure the sequence and continuity. Section I: Studies related to common mental health problems in Primary school children. Section II: Studies related to the effect of school mental health programme in the management of common mental health problems in primary school children. Section III: Studies related to knowledge and skill of teachers in the management of common mental health problems in primary school children. Section IV: Studies related to the effect of Structured Teaching in the management of common mental health problems in primary school children. Section V: Studies related to effect of Self Instructional Module in the management of common mental health problems in primary school children.</p> <p>RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: An evaluative approach and quasi experimental design with three group pre-post-test design was chosen for the study. By using probability, stratified cluster sampling, 360 Primary School teachers from goveRNnt schools in Anekal Taluk of Bangalore Urban district of KaRNaka State was selected to assess the effectiveness of structured teaching modules on identification of common mental health problems in primary school children. Prior permission was obtained from the relevant authorities - Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI), GoveRNnt of KaRNaka and Block Education Officer (BEO) of the Taluk, GoveRNnt of KaRNaka. Tool used for the study was Self-administered Knowledge questionnaire and Rutters Scale. The reliability of knowledge was tested by test-retest method. Data collected were edited, tabulated and analyzed using SPSS 17.0 version interpreted by using descriptive and inferential statistics based on the formulated objectives of the study.</p> <p>MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE STUDY: Majority of the subjects were females, married, had TCH training, had above 6 years of teaching experience, had nuclear families, followed Hinduism, and eaRN between Rs.10, 000 to Rs. 15,000 per month. The statistical computations carried out revealed that there was no significant difference between the characteristics of three groups as they were drawn from the same population The pre-test mean of knowledge scores of Group I was 20.2(SD 1.7), Group II was 19.84 (SD 1.51) and that of Control Group was 20.23 (SD 1.81). The pre-test knowledge scores across the groups was found to be non-significant Dimension wise pre-test knowledge score showed statistical difference in emotional disorder (F=16.09;p&lt;0.01), developmental disorder(F=9.6;p&lt;0.01), eating disorder(F=7.67;p&lt;0.01), habit disorder(F=2.39;p&lt;0.01) respectively. However conduct disorder (F=0.78;p=0.46NS) and hyperkinetic disorders (F=1.47;p=0.23NS) mean score levels showed non-significance. There were statistical significance in overall Post-test I &amp; Post-test II knowledge scores across the dimensions in Group I and Group II. That there is comparison of means with the corresponding mental health disorders like emotional disorder, Developmental disorder, Eating disorder, Habit disorder, conduct disorder and hyperkinetic disorders, the result indicates that there is increasing trend in the Groups 1 and 2 with respect to all disorders compared to control group. It was found that years of teaching is the most contributing demographic variable on knowledge scores followed by marital duration. The results showed that emotional and behavior disorder score were correlated and statistically significant.</p>