A study to assess the
effectiveness of health awareness programme on knowledge regarding selected
health promotive behaviors among traffic police personnel in Mysuru city
Mrs. Priyaranjani. N1*,
Prof. Sheela Williams2
1II year M. Sc. Nursing, JSS College of Nursing, Mysuru
2Principal cum Professor and HOD, Department of Medical Surgical
Nursing, JSS College of Nursing, Mysuru
*Corresponding
Author Email: priyaranjani12@gmail.com
ABSTRACT:
Introduction: Occupational environment plays a major role on the health
of the exposed. The health hazards get more severe when the duration of
exposure increases. Traffic police personnel are more exposed to various health
hazards. But their nature of duty has more bearing on their deteriorating
health. Some of the risks can not be avoided by these personnel but can boost
up their health through proper health management. By inculcating health
promotive behaviors among traffic police personnel we can help them in
improving their quality of life. Health
promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to
improve their health.
Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of health awareness programme on
knowledge regarding selected health promotive behaviors among traffic police
personnel in Mysuru city.
Methods: The
research design selected for this study was Pre-experimental - One group pre
test post test design. A pre test observation of the dependent variables is
made before implementation of the treatment to the selected group, the
treatment is administered, and finally a post test observation of dependent
variables is carried out to assess the effect of treatment on the group. Non
probability purposive sampling technique was used to select the traffic police
personnel for the study.
Results: The result
of the study revealed that health awareness programme on selected health
promotive behaviours was effective in increasing the knowledge of traffic
police personnel regarding selected health promotive behaviours as evidenced by
computed paired ‘t’ test which was statistically significant at 0.05 level of significance( t (99)
= 1.99; p>0.05).
Conclusion: Thus it was concluded that the health
awareness programme on selected health promotive behaviours was effective in
increasing the knowledge of traffic police personnel regarding selected health
promotive behaviours. The study findings stresses the increasing responsibility
of health professionals in planning and implementing various educational
strategies to improve the knowledge of traffic police personnel regarding
health promotive behaviours which in turn helps to reduce the risk of various occupationally exposed health problems.
KEY WORDS: Health awareness programme, health promotive behaviours, traffic
police personnel.
INTRODUCTION:
Occupational environment
plays a major role on the health of the exposed. This fact is more important in
situations as the personnel engaged in traffic duty. These personnel have to
undergo physical strain in an environment polluted by fumes, exhaust of
vehicles, use of blowing horns, blow of dust in the air by a speeding vehicle,
etc.1
Air pollution from
combustions causes both acute and chronic effects in traffic police personnel.
Traffic police personnels are required to stand under the sun all day long which leads them
to get many skin problems like from minor skin burns to major skin cancers. Due to their nature of duty traffic police
are suffering from many health hazards like skin irritations, varicose veins,
arthropathy, photosensitivity, lung diseases, certain cardiovascular diseases,
cancers etc.2
Health promotion enhances
the quality of life for all people. The purpose of health promotion is to
positively influence the health behavior of individuals and communities as well
as the living and working conditions that influence their health.3
NEED FOR THE STUDY:
Traffic police are exposed to air pollution hazards routinely
for 8-10 hours of duty which leads to respiratory
illness among these workmen.2As per the report headed as Men in
white fighting health issues, a recent health
survey revealed that around 50
per cent of the 1,845traffic policemen are
under stress and twenty per cent of them have regular blood pressure problems.4
Traffic police who are on streets every
day are prone to develop varicose veins and Arthropathy. Large vehicles are
running along the road honking loudly, exposing these officers to high decibels
of noise. Photosensitivity and eye diseases are also seen among the traffic
police personnel due to prolonged exposure to sunlight.5
OBJECTIVES:
1) To assess the knowledge regarding selected
health promotive behaviors among traffic police personnel.
2) To assess the effectiveness of health
awareness programme on knowledge regarding selected health promotive behaviors
among traffic police personnel.
3) To find the association between the level
of knowledge regarding selected health promotive behaviors among traffic police
personnel with their selected personal variables.
HYPOTHESES:
H1: There will be significant change in
knowledge regarding selected health promotive behaviors among traffic police
personnel after attending the health awareness programme at 0.05 level of
significance.
H2: There will be significant association
between level of knowledge regarding selected health promotive behaviors of
traffic police personnel with their selected personal variables at 0.05 level
of significance.
METHODOLOGY:
Research design: Pre-experimental one group pre test post
test design.
Sampling technique: Non- probability purposive sampling
Sample: The sample of the study comprises of 100
traffic police personnel.
VARIABLES
Independent variable: Health awareness programme
Dependant variable: Knowledge regarding selected health
promotive behaviors.
Personal variables : Age, marital status, educational
status, socio-economic status, habits,
exposure to mass media, previous exposure to awareness programmes, years
of working as traffic police, known past
illness.
SETTING
Selected traffic police stations at Mysuru city like Krishnaraja
traffic police station and Siddarthanagara traffic police station.
DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUE
Section A: Consists of personal variables of sample respondents seeking information
such as age, marital status, educational status, socio-economic status,
habits, exposure to mass media, previous
exposure to awareness programmes, years of working as traffic police, known past illness.
Section B: Includes 30 items of structured knowledge
questionnaire regarding selected health promotive behaviours.
RESULTS:
Section 1: Description of
selected personal variables.
TABLE 1: Frequency
and percentage distribution of traffic police personnel according to their
selected personal variables. n=100
|
Sl. No |
Personal variables |
f |
% |
|
1 |
Age in years |
|
|
|
|
1.1 25-35 |
49 |
49 |
|
|
1.2 36-45 |
41 |
41 |
|
|
1.3 46-55 |
10 |
10 |
|
2 |
Marital status |
|
|
|
|
2.1 Single |
45 |
45 |
|
|
2.2 Married |
55 |
55 |
|
3 |
Educational qualification |
|
|
|
|
3.1 Graduate |
84 |
84 |
|
|
3.2 Post graduate |
16 |
16 |
|
4 |
Monthly income |
|
|
|
|
4.1 10,000-15,000 |
35 |
35 |
|
|
4.2 15,001-20,000 |
57 |
57 |
|
|
4.3 20,001-25,000 |
8 |
8 |
|
5 |
Source of getting information about taking care of
health |
|
|
|
|
5.1 Mass media |
95 |
95 |
|
|
5.2 Others |
5 |
5 |
|
6 |
Previous exposure to health awareness programme |
|
|
|
|
6.1 Yes |
55 |
55 |
|
|
6.2 No |
45 |
45 |
|
7 |
Habits |
|
|
|
|
Smoking |
|
|
|
|
7.1 Yes |
21 |
21 |
|
|
7.2 No |
79 |
79 |
|
|
7.1 if yes specify |
|
|
|
|
7.1.1 1-3/Day |
13 |
13 |
|
|
7.1.2 More than 3 per day |
8 |
8 |
|
|
Alcohol |
|
|
|
|
7.2.1 Yes |
24 |
24 |
|
|
7.2.2 No |
76 |
76 |
|
|
7.2.1 if yes specify |
|
|
|
|
7.2.1.1 Daily |
8 |
8 |
|
|
7.2.1.2 Twice in a week |
12 |
12 |
|
|
7.2.1.3 Once in a month |
4 |
4 |
|
8 |
Duration of working as traffic police |
|
|
|
|
8.1 1-3 years |
24 |
24 |
|
|
8.2 4-6 years |
51 |
51 |
|
|
8.2 >6 years |
25 |
25 |
|
9 |
Have you suffered from any illness in the past |
|
|
|
|
9.1 Yes |
32 |
32 |
|
|
9.2 No |
68 |
68 |
Section 2: Effectiveness of health
awareness programme on knowledge regarding selected health promotive behaviours
A. Description of traffic police personnel’s knowledge regarding
selected health promotive behaviors.
Table
2: Frequency and percentage
distribution of knowledge scores of traffic police personnel according to their
pre test and post test scores.
n=100
|
Knowledge scores |
Pre test f (%) |
Post test f (%) |
|
Poor knowledge
(0-15) |
77 |
30 |
|
Average knowledge (16-23) |
23 |
67 |
|
Good knowledge
(24-30) |
- |
3 |
Table
3: Mean, Median, Standard deviation, Range of pre-test and post-test knowledge
score of traffic police personnel
n=100
|
Test |
Mean |
Median |
Range |
SD |
|
Pre test |
13.08 |
13 |
7-21 |
+ 3.277 |
|
Post test |
16.33 |
17 |
12-26 |
+ 5.9 |
B. Significance of difference between the
mean pre-test and post-test scores of knowledge regarding selected health
promotive behaviors among traffic police personnel.
Table 4: Mean, mean
difference, standard deviation difference, standard error and paired ‘t’ value
of pre-test and post test knowledge scores of traffic police personnel. n=100
|
Knowledge Scores |
Mean |
Mean Difference |
S.D difference |
Standard error |
paired ‘t’ test value |
|
Pretest |
13.08 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.5 |
2.63
|
0.6745 |
29.18* |
|
Post test |
16.33 |
|
|
|
|
t(99) = 1.99; p<0.05 * significant.
Section 3: Association between the level of knowledge
and selected personal variables of traffic police personnel.
Table 5: Chi square values between the
knowledge level of traffic police personnel regarding selected health promotive
behaviours with their selected personal variables.
n=100
|
SL. No |
Personal variables |
Poor knowledge |
Average and good knowledge |
chi square |
|
1 |
Age
in years |
|
|
|
|
|
1.1 25-35 |
38 |
11 |
|
|
|
1.2 36-45 |
34 |
7 |
4.938 |
|
|
1.3 46-55 |
5 |
5 |
|
|
2 |
Marital status |
|
|
|
|
|
2.1 Single |
35 |
10 |
0.028 |
|
|
2.2 Married |
42 |
13 |
|
|
3 |
Educational qualification |
|
|
|
|
|
3.2 Graduate |
63 |
21 |
0.584# |
|
|
3.2 Post graduate |
14 |
2 |
|
|
4 |
Monthly income |
|
|
|
|
|
4.1 10,000-15,000 |
29 |
6 |
1.043 |
|
|
4.2 15,001-25,000 |
48 |
17 |
|
|
5 |
Source of getting information about
taking care of health |
|
|
|
|
|
5.1 Mass media |
73 |
21 |
0.014# |
|
|
5.2 Others |
4 |
2 |
|
|
6 |
Previous exposure to health awareness
programme |
|
|
|
|
|
6.1 Yes |
44 |
11 |
0.621 |
|
|
6.2 No |
33 |
12 |
|
|
7 |
Habits |
|
|
|
|
|
Smoking |
|
|
|
|
|
7.1 Yes |
16 |
5 |
0.01 |
|
|
7.2 No |
61 |
18 |
|
|
|
7.1 If yes specify |
|
|
|
|
|
7.1.1 1-3/day |
7 |
6 |
0.71# |
|
|
7.1.2 More than 3 per day |
5 |
3 |
|
|
|
Alcohol |
|
|
|
|
|
7.2.1 Yes |
16 |
8 |
1.904 |
|
|
7.2.2 No |
61 |
15 |
|
|
|
7.2.1 If yes specify |
|
|
|
|
|
7.2.1.1 Daily |
5 |
3 |
0.524# |
|
|
7.2.1.2 Twice
in a week and once in a month |
6 |
10 |
|
|
8 |
Duration of working as traffic police |
|
|
|
|
|
8.1 1-6 years |
58 |
17 |
|
|
|
8.2 >6 years |
19 |
6 |
0.018 |
|
9 |
Have you suffered from any illness in the
past |
|
|
|
|
|
9.1 Yes |
23 |
9 |
0.698 |
|
|
9.2 No |
54 |
14 |
|
χ2(1)=3.84; χ2(2)=5.99;
; p>0.05; # = Yates correction done.
CONCLUSION:
·
Analysis
of the findings revealed that majority (77%) of the traffic police personnel
had poor knowledge regarding selected health promotive behaviours.
·
The
study did not show any significant association between the level of knowledge
of traffic police personnel with their selected personnel variables.
·
The
findings revealed that health awareness programme on selected health promotive behaviours
was effective in increasing the knowledge of traffic police personnel regarding
selected health promotive behaviours as evidenced by computed paired ‘t’ test
which was significant at 0.05 level of significance.
The present study was concluded that the health awareness
programme on selected health promotive behaviours was effective in increasing
the knowledge of traffic police personnel regarding selected health promotive behaviours.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Keeping in view of the findings of the present study, following
recommendations were made.
1. Similar study can be carried out on a
larger scale for broader generalization.
2. Similar studies can be conducted to assess
the effectiveness of other educational strategies to improve the knowledge of
traffic police personnel regarding health promotive behaviours.
3. More studies can be conducted on
strategies to prevent illness and promote health of the traffic police
personnel.
REFERENCES:
1.
Satapathy, DM, Behera, TR, Tripathy RM. Health Status of Traffic Police
Personnel in Brahmapur City. Indian J Community Med [serial on the Internet].
2009;34(1) Available from: http://http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2763644/
2.
Occupational Health risk in Traffic Police men. Available from URL
:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2763644/
3.
What is Health Promotion & Behaviour [homepage on the Internet]. 2011
[cited 2013 Dec 20]. Available from: CEPH Accredited School of Public Health,
Web site: http://www.publichealth.uga.edu/hpb/what-health-promotion-behavior
4.
Men in white fighting health issues. Available from URL:
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-5-11/meninwhite/30620228-health-issues
5.
Arpana Neopane. Occupational hazards for traffic police. 2012 [cited 2013 Dec
20]. Available from: Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital, Web site:
http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/03/12/related-articles/occupational-hazards//for-traffic/police-0fficer/350418.html
Received on 04.07.2015 Modified on 10.07.2015
Accepted on 27.07.2015 ©
A&V Publication all right reserved
Int. J. Nur. Edu. and
Research 3(3):July-Sept., 2015; Page 321-324
DOI: 10.5958/2454-2660.2015.00015.0