Morbidity pattern among primary school children in a tribal area of Maharashtra

Authors

  • Chinmay N. Gokhale Department of Community Medicine, Seth GSMC and KEMH, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  • Chaitali A. Borgaonkar Department of Community Medicine, HBTMC and Dr R N Cooper Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  • Sunita S. Shanbhag Milk Bank, LTMC and MH, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  • Mridula J. Solanki Department of Community Medicine, Seth GSMC and KEMH, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  • Milind M. Rasal Department of Community Medicine, Seth GSMC and KEMH, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20175776

Keywords:

Primary school, Morbidity, Malnutrition

Abstract

Background: A child spends more time at school than anywhere else, except home. The health and well-being of children is a fundamental issue in education. Indeed, active promotion of health is now seen as a priority for schools. Mortality in school age children is low but morbidity and physical defects constitute major problems. With this background the present study was conducted to explore the prevalence morbidity patterns and their socio-demographic co-relates among the primary school children in a Tribal area. The objectives of the study were to study morbidity profile and assess nutrition status of tribal primary school children; to determine factors influencing morbidity profile of tribal primary school children; to suggest recommendations based on study findings.

Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study conducted in Zila Parishad school located in village-Durves, tribal area of District-Palghar. Children enrolled in class 1 to 5were included using convenient sampling. A thorough clinical examination was carried out to assess the morbidities and nutrition status. Data was entered in Microsoft Excel Spread sheet and analyzed using SPSS.

Results: Out of 126 students, 68 were girls and 58 were boys. The teeth hygiene was most compromised and dental caries was the commonest morbidity. Around 30% were malnourished as per WHO weight-for-age standards. Younger students i.e. those enrolled in class 1–3 had higher proportions of morbidities as compared to their elder counterparts. It was seen that male gender and children enrolled in class 1–3 had more morbidities.

Conclusions: The study showed a poor attendance of merely 40% with 73% of study subjects having one or other kind of morbidities. Health education sessions on personal hygiene and nutrition must be carried out both for students and their parents to improve nutrition status and reduce proportion of morbidities. 

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Published

2017-12-23

How to Cite

Gokhale, C. N., Borgaonkar, C. A., Shanbhag, S. S., Solanki, M. J., & Rasal, M. M. (2017). Morbidity pattern among primary school children in a tribal area of Maharashtra. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 5(1), 165–169. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20175776

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Original Research Articles