Operations of school health program assessment at selected secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area, Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: School health program (SHP) is the most cost-effective investment a nation can make to simultaneously improve education and health conditions of her citizen. In spite of this, the adoption of SHP in developing countries is still below set standard. Therefore, this study assesses the operations of SHP in secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area (LGA), Benin City, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted with accidental sampling method to select 56 school health teachers from secondary schools in Egor LGA. A self-structured instrument was used to collect data based on the research objectives. Data collected were analyzed using percentages, means, and standard deviation. Results: This study showed that despite high level of the program awareness, the actualization of its objective was found to be poor, and this was found to be related with the lack of government support, lack of needed personnel and materials, lack of effective supervision of the program and inappropriate funding. Conclusion: In-service training on SHP should be provided to enhance the skills needed for implementation of SHP. The government should provide needed materials and equipment and employ competent health personnel to take charge of the school health services, and other policymakers should mobilize and strengthen SHP and education activities at the state.