School-based health education intervention for prevention of taeniasis and neurocysticercosis: a pilot study

Neurocysticercosis (NC) spreads due to complex socio-cultural and economic conditions prevailing in our country. The up-scaling of the infection among pediatric age group in recent times is related to faulty food preparation and personal hygiene practices, which are amenable to simple preventable measures in daily life. Students are prime targets for educational intervention to change sanitary habits due to their impressionable minds. Further, changing the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of teachers regarding the disease leads to a multiplier effect as they pass on the message to many generations of students. Our previous studies demonstrated significant lacunae in knowledge about the disease epidemiology and prevention among school students and teachers. A pilot health-education intervention program was undertaken in 24 randomly selected municipal primary schools in Delhi, to increase awareness of students and schoolteachers regarding NC. The content of the program was devised based on the analysis of previous KAP studies done in a similar population. The activities consisted of a slide show, a lecture in vernacular language, demonstration of illustrations, charts and samples of infested pork, and question-answer sessions with the audience. Conducting skits involving role-play by trained child artists was used as a unique mode of passing health education messages. Posters and pamphlets in the local language were prepared and distributed in the school. A total of 200 teachers, 4786 students, 846 parents, 79 sanitary staff, 65 school-health nurses and 23 school-health physicians attended the activities. Feedback was collected 3 months after the activity from each school (21 physicians and 70 schoolteachers). All respondents considered the program to be successful in increasing their own and students' awareness about NC and its prevention. There was significant improvement in teachers' knowledge about the impact of changing sanitary habits in prevention of the disease, and the appropriate practices to be adopted. This study demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of conducting health education intervention in primary schools for changing sanitary practices for prevention of NC.