Environmental
threats vary considerably in urban and rural areas,
within communities, countries and regions but the
health and pollution problems are global. The environmental
exposure patterns and behaviours of children are very
different from those of adults and may result in greater
exposures. The Anganwadi teachers are in direct contact
with children and people in the community.
They
should understand the importance of environmental
health; this can be done utilising the brief interventions.
Nurses must be well informed about the potential benefits
of intervention programmes. The study sample consisted
of 54 Anganwadi teachers selected using convenience
sampling technique from Udupi district of Karnataka.
Objectives
The objectives of the study were, to
(i) determine the knowledge of Anganwadi teachers
regarding environmental health,
(ii) develop and validate planned teaching programme
on environmental health,
(iii) determine the effectiveness of planned teaching
programme in terms of gain in knowledge in post-test,
and (iv) find the association between pre-test level
of knowledge of teachers regarding
No.
5, Tharamannil House, Mudhana Garden, Valagarahalli
Road, Kengeri, Bangalore. |
environmental
health with selected variables viz. educational sta-tus,
years of experience, socioeconomic status and exposure
to mass media.
Assumptions
The study assumptions included
(i) basic knowledge on environmental health, willingness
to participate in the study and give free and frank
response during the pre and post-test;
(ii) planned teaching programme will bring change
in the knowedge of Anganwadi teachers regarding environmental
health, and
(iii) Anganwadi teachers play a significant role in
improving the environmental health in a community.
The
conceptual framework of the study was based on Goal
Attainment Theory of Imogene King. The research design
was evaluative approach with one group pre-test post-test
pre-experimental design. The population selected for
the present study comprised of Anganwadi teachers
from Udupi District. This district has 3 taluks of
which Udupi taluk was selected.
The
study sample consisted of 54 Anganwadi teachers from
selected areas of Udupi district. There was a mortality
of 4 samples during the post-test. Research Tools
and Techniques : The three data collection instruments
developed and used by the researcher for the research
study were : Tool 1 : Demographic Proforma Tool 2
: Exposure to mass media Tool 3 : Structured Knowledge
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questionnaire
on environmental health The content validity of the
developed tools and the planned teaching programme
was established by giving it to seven experts from
various fields. The pre-testing was done by administering
the tool to 5 Anganwadi teachers from Kundapura Taluk.
Reliability of the structured knowledge questionnaire
was determined by test-retest method on 20 Anganwadi
teachers from Kundapura taluk.
The reliability of the structured knowledge questionnaire
was, r=0.9 Pilot Study : The pilot study was conducted
on 10 Anganwadi Teachers from Karkala taluk and the
study design was found to be feasible and practicable.
Findings of the Study
Characteristics sample : Most of the Anganwadi teachers
(26, 48.15%) belong to the age group of 31-40 years.
Most
of the Anganwadi teachers’ (74.04%) education
qualifications was SSLC. Out of 54 Anganwadi teachers,
most (25, 46.3%) had 12-23 years of experience; majority
of Anganwadi teachers (46, 85.19%) had low per capita
income; Majority of Anganwadi teachers (45, 83.33%)
had moderate exposure to mass media.
Effectiveness of the planned teaching programme on
environmental health : There was gain in knowledge
scores of Anganwadi teachers (Table 1). Significance
of difference between mean pre-test and post-test knowledge scores has been shown in Table
2.
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|
| Table
1 : Frequency and percentage distribution of pre-test
and post-test knowledge scores of Anganwadi teachers
(N=50) |
| Knowledge
Scores |
Pre-Test
Scores
Frequency
Percentage |
Post-Test
Scores
Frequency Percentage |
Good
(25-36)
Average
(13-24)
Poor
(0-12)
Total |
16
32
34
68
0
0
50
100 |
50
100
0
0
0
0
50
100 |
|
Maximum
possible score : 36
Table 3 shows the association between pre-test knowledge
socres of Anganwadi teachers with selected variables.
The findings of the present study are supported by
a pre-experimental study with one group pre-test posttest
design, conducted at a primary health centre in Devanhalli
Taluk. The sampling technique was convenient sampling
with a sample size of 46. The findings revealed that
mean percentage was 44.9% in the pre-test and 83.35%
in the post-test. [t(45) = 19.8, p<0.001]. As for
association between knowledge scores and selected
variables, an explorative study conducted to assess
the knowledge of Anganwadi teachers in the management
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of
minor ailments of children attending anganwadis with
a view to develop SIM in Bangalore Urban district
came up with similar findings. Results showed that
there was no significant relationship between the
knowledge of Anganwadi workers and age, educational
status, monthly honorarium, experience of work and
exposure to in-service training on child care.
Implications of the Study
The present study enables Anganwadi teachers to gain
knowledge on environmental health which could in turn
help Anganwadi teachers to adopt healthy practices
and teach children. Nursing education : Nursing education
should prepare nurses with the potential for
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imparting
health information effectively and assist the people
in the community in developing self care potentials.
It should emphasise more on prospective nurses to
impart health education regarding environmental health.
The nurse must therefore be prepared to develop and
implement teaching strategies related to environmental
health.
Nursing practice : Health education
programmes conducted by the nursing personnel in community
setting help in imparting knowledge to Anganwadi teachers
on environmental health. It also helps the Anganwadi
teachers to care for children in Anganwadi centres
with proper knowledge and confidence. Nursing administration
: Nurs-
|
| Knowledge
Scores |
Mean |
Mean
Difference |
Standard
Deviation |
Standard
error of mean |
p
value |
t
value |
Pre-test
Post-test |
23.1
33.7 |
10.60 |
2.4
1.96 |
0.34
0.28 |
0.001 |
43.84 |
t(49)=2.0,
p<0.05 |
| S.
No. |
Variables |
Knowledge
Good
Average |
x2 |
df |
Level
of Significance |
| 1 |
Qualification
1.1 SSLC
1.2 PUC & BA |
13
27
4 10 |
0.08 |
1 |
Not
significant |
| 2 |
Years
of experience
2.1 1 to 11
2.2 12 to 23
2.3 24 to 35 |
4
19
11
14
2
4 |
3.37 |
2 |
Not
significant |
| 3 |
Per
capita income
3.1 Low
3.2 Middle
3.3 High |
13 33
3 3
1
1 |
0.73 |
2 |
Not
significant |
| 4 |
Exposure
to mass media
4.1 High
4.2 Moderate & Low |
1 5
16 32 |
2.33 |
1 |
Not
significant |
x2=3.841, x2=5.99, (p<0.05) |
ing
administrators are the high persons to identify the
nature of the problem and organise programmes related
to health promotion to the target population. Nurse
administrators can also take the initiative in imparting
health information through different effective teaching
methods.
They have to support and encourage the nursing students
to participate in the health promotion activities.
Individual and group teachings can be arranged for
Anganwadi teachers.
Nursing research :
The information drawn out of researches may help the
government also to plan preventive measures. The study
findings relvealed an increase in knowledge of Anganwadi
environmental health. This demonstrates the need for
regular education programme to keep them informed
about
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environmental
health problems. Nurse researchers can conduct studies
on assessment of needs of the Anganwadi teachers in
terms of their knowledge, attitude, beliefs and practices
in caring for children and can determine the effectiveness
of the education in terms of improved and healthy
rearing practices.
References
1. Park I (2007). Park’s textbook of preventive
& social medicine. 19th edn. Jabalpur : Banarsidas
Bhanot 2. Gupta P, Ghai PO (2007). Textbook of preventive
and social medicine. 2nd edn. New Delhi : CBS Publishers
3. Premji S, et al (2007). Socioeconomic correlates
of municipal level pollution emissions on Montreal
Island. Canadian Journal of Public Health (98) 2,
138-142
4. Shashidhara YN (2005). Effectiveness of structured
teaching programme regarding
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biomedical
waste management among health team members of PHCs
of Devanahalli Taluk, Karnataka. Unpublished Master
of Nursing Thesis. Ragiv Gandhi University of Health
Sciences 5. Rajesh N (2003). An explorative study
to assess the knowledge of Anganwadi teachers in the
management of monor ailments of children attending
anganwadi with a view to develop self instructional
module (SIM) in Bangalore Urban District, Karnataka.
Unpublished Master of Nursing Thesis.
Ragiv
Gandhi University of Health Sciences 6. Kishtwaria
J, Katoch S and Sharma A (2005). A comparative study
of environmental hygiene and sanitation practices
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of Environmental Protection, 25(7), 620 - 624
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