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Moussi C, Tahan L, Habchy P, Kattan O, Njeim A, Abou Habib L, El Bitar W, El Asmar B, Chahine MN. School-Based Pre- and Post-Intervention Tests Assessing Knowledge about Healthy Lifestyles: A National School Health Awareness Campaign on Children Aged between 3 and 12 Years Old. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 11:213. [PMID: 38397325 PMCID: PMC10887629 DOI: 10.3390/children11020213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
In response to the diverse health challenges faced by today's youth and their extensive time spent in schools, we conducted a school health awareness campaign aimed at prioritizing well-being and academic performance. This analytical longitudinal study, spanning 27 schools in Lebanon, aimed to assess the impact of the awareness campaign on the health knowledge and practices of 5-, 8-, and 11-year-old students throughout pre- and post-intervention testing focused on general health and healthy habits, employing 11, 14, and 15 questions tailored to 5, 8, and 11 year olds, respectively. The questions covered various aspects, including sleep, personal and dental hygiene, nutrition, physical activity, addiction, security measures, and bullying. Out of the 7100 students who participated, 16.11% (1144 students) were evaluated before and after the campaign. The results indicated a significant increase in health awareness post-intervention across all age groups. For instance, in 5-year-olds, limited awareness decreased from 91.6% to 36.38%, while adequate awareness rose from 8.03% to 62.3%. Improvement varied across health knowledge topics, with security-related questions showing the highest enhancement. Factors such as governorate, normal-weight status, and close supervision influenced improvement. However, no significant correlations were found with school type, size, gender, age, nationality, parental factors, or comorbidities. The study concludes that the school health awareness campaign successfully heightened children's health awareness, advocating for the integration of regular health promotions into the standard educational curriculum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charbel Moussi
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath P.O. Box 3, Lebanon; (C.M.); (L.T.); (P.H.); (O.K.); (A.N.)
| | - Léa Tahan
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath P.O. Box 3, Lebanon; (C.M.); (L.T.); (P.H.); (O.K.); (A.N.)
| | - Peter Habchy
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath P.O. Box 3, Lebanon; (C.M.); (L.T.); (P.H.); (O.K.); (A.N.)
| | - Ogarite Kattan
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath P.O. Box 3, Lebanon; (C.M.); (L.T.); (P.H.); (O.K.); (A.N.)
| | - Alain Njeim
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath P.O. Box 3, Lebanon; (C.M.); (L.T.); (P.H.); (O.K.); (A.N.)
| | - Leila Abou Habib
- Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta (Order of Malta Lebanon), Vanlian Bldg, 6th Fl. City Rama Str. Dekwaneh, Beirut P.O. Box 11-4286, Lebanon; (L.A.H.); (W.E.B.); (B.E.A.)
| | - Wassim El Bitar
- Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta (Order of Malta Lebanon), Vanlian Bldg, 6th Fl. City Rama Str. Dekwaneh, Beirut P.O. Box 11-4286, Lebanon; (L.A.H.); (W.E.B.); (B.E.A.)
- Department of Pediatrics, Bellevue Medical Center University Hospital, Mansourieh P.O Box 295, Lebanon
| | - Béchara El Asmar
- Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta (Order of Malta Lebanon), Vanlian Bldg, 6th Fl. City Rama Str. Dekwaneh, Beirut P.O. Box 11-4286, Lebanon; (L.A.H.); (W.E.B.); (B.E.A.)
- Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut P.O. Box 17-5208, Lebanon
- Department of Cardiology, Hotel-Dieu de France Hospital, Achrafieh, Beirut P.O. Box 11-5190, Lebanon
| | - Mirna N. Chahine
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath P.O. Box 3, Lebanon; (C.M.); (L.T.); (P.H.); (O.K.); (A.N.)
- Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta (Order of Malta Lebanon), Vanlian Bldg, 6th Fl. City Rama Str. Dekwaneh, Beirut P.O. Box 11-4286, Lebanon; (L.A.H.); (W.E.B.); (B.E.A.)
- Basic Sciences Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Hadath P.O. Box 3, Lebanon
- Foundation-Medical Research Institutes (F-MRI), Achrafieh, Beirut P.O. Box 64, Lebanon
- Foundation-Medical Research Institutes (F-MRI), 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
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