Health literacy is a person's decision-making ability to improve their quality of life and prevent diseases by accessing, understanding and applying health information. Health literacy in the adolescent's period can aid them to gain and understand health information which can bring positive health outcomes. The aim of this pilot study is to examine the efficacy of health education and school health activities provided by school nurses on improving health literacy among secondary school adolescents. The study will also examine whether health education by health champions (the adolescents) is effective in improving the health literacy of the community people, and examine whether these interventions develop awareness, improve health knowledge, empower, and change behaviors of secondary school adolescents. This intervention study aims to improve health literacy in the adolescents in Bangladesh and the school-located community. The Begum Ayesha Pilot Girl's High School in Dohar, Dhaka district will be selected as a field. First, we will place school nurses at the school, provide health checkups for both the adolescents (about n=316) and community people (about n=200), and school nurses will provide weekly health education for 3 months to the adolescents. After certifying them as "Health Champions", the health champions visit the community and provide health education activities to the community people. For both participant groups, health literacy will be measured as efficacy checking of this pilot study. Assent and informed consent will be obtained from the participants. Autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, fidelity, veracity, confidentiality, and justice of the participants will be ensured. Also, anonymity will be maintained across all stages of the study.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
138
The health education will be provided the following sessions. Introduction to Global and Bangladesh Health, Health Information access (Validity), Critical Values (Vital signs, BMI, RBS etc.), Emergency Management (burn, chocking, knife cut, fainting etc.), Food (classification, healthy food, unhealthy, food label, salt intake) (NCDs from unhealthy diet), Smoking and Alcohol (NCD related, substance abuse, secondhand smoking), Physical activity (Benefits, sedentary lifestyle, NCD related), Women's health (menstruation, menstrual cycle, hygiene, STD, contraception), Hygiene (water, food, brushing, bath, toileting, healthy habits), Environmental Sanitation and Communicable disease (clean, effects on health), and Women's health and societal contribution
Begum Ayesha Pilot Girls' High School And College
Dhaka, Dohar, Bangladesh
Change in health literacy score among the secondary school students
Primary outcome will be measured by the health literacy scale for school-aged Children (HLSAC), Bangla version.
Time frame: Baseline, Midline (after 3 months of baseline), Endline (after 6 months of baseline)
Change in ratio of the level of health literacy
This will be measured by HLSAC, Bangla version.
Time frame: Baseline, Midline (after 3 months of baseline), Endline (after 6 months of baseline)
Change in self-efficacy score
this will be measured by General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE)
Time frame: Baseline, Midline (after 3 months of baseline), Endline (after 6 months of baseline)
Change in reproductive age women specific health literacy
This will be measured by using the Health literacy scale for women of reproductive age, Bangla version
Time frame: Baseline, Midline (after 3 months of baseline), Endline (after 6 months of baseline)
Change in awareness and knowledge score
This will be measured by the researcher-developed scale
Time frame: Baseline, Midline (after 3 months of baseline), Endline (after 6 months of baseline)
Change in health behavior score
this will be measured by the researcher-developed scale
Time frame: Baseline, Midline (after 3 months of baseline), Endline (after 6 months of baseline)
Qualitative self-evaluation attending the project and being a health champion
Data will be collected through a open qualitative questionnaire (one/two questions will be asked the participants to share their experience for being a health champion and data will be recorded using a voice recorder).
Time frame: Endline (after 6 months of baseline)
For community people- Change in health literacy score
This will be measured by the European Health literacy Survey Questionnaire short version (HLS-Q12), Bangla version, which is developed by Finbraten, 2018 in English
Time frame: Midline (after 3 months of baseline), Endline (after 6 months of baseline)
For community people- Change in awareness and knowledge score
This will be measured by the researcher-developed scale
Time frame: Midline (after 3 months of baseline), Endline (after 6 months of baseline)
For community people- Change in health behavior score
This will be measured by the researcher-developed scale
Time frame: Midline (after 3 months of baseline), Endline (after 6 months of baseline)
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