Prevalence Of Morbidity And Morbidity Pattern In School Children (5-11 Yrs) In Urban Area Of Meerut

Abstract

Objectives: 1. To find out the prevalence of morbidity in primary school children. 2. To study the pattern of morbidity in primary school children (5-11 years) in urban Meerut. Study Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Govt. Primary Schools of Urban Meerut. Participants: 800 school children (5-11 years). Methodology: Out of a list of all govt. primary schools, 5 were randomly chosen. Students aged 5-11 years were included in the study. Complete data of each child was collected in a pre-designed, pre-tested proforma Statistical Analysis: percentages and Chi-square test. Result: Out of 800 children (426 boys and 374 girls), 542 children (67.8 %) were found to be suffering from one or more morbid conditions. total of 2532 morbidities were found to be present in 542 sick children accounting for 4.6 morbidities per sick child. Maximum children (93.4%) were having morbidity related to nutritional deficiencies followed by diseases of the oral cavity (92.3%), malnutrition (73.1%), skin diseases (59%), behavioural problems (38.2%) and diseases of blood forming organs (35.8%). Most of the morbidity was due to malnutrition (495/1000). Conclusion: Health is a key factor in school entry, as well as continued participation and attainment in school. Most of the defects and diseases that are seen among the school children are preventable and the health of the child can be preserved and improved, provided that the defect or disease is detected and remedied early by a well organized school health programme.