Abstract

TOSIN, Oni. H.  and  TSHITANGANO, Takalani G.. Assessment of learners' exposure to health education and promotion at school in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Afr. j. prim. health care fam. med. (Online) [online]. 2016, vol.8, n.2, pp.1-5. ISSN 2071-2936.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v8i2.932.

BACKGROUND: School participation and educational attainment among adolescents have been rising rapidly in the developing world. Thus, to attain Millennium Development Goal 6 (Combat HIV and/or AIDs, malaria and other diseases), it is crucial to seize the opportunity to educate and encourage teenagers about healthy choices and proper social behaviours that will continue into adulthood. AIM: This study aimed to assess the exposure of rural secondary school learners to health education and promotion at schools in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. SETTING: This study was carried out at 10 secondary schools in Vhumbedzi educational circuit. METHODOLOGY: The study adopted a cross-sectional quantitative approach. Data were collected from 338 randomly selected learners from 10 secondary schools that make up a rural Vhumbedzi circuit in the Limpopo province. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. RESULTS: The findings showed that, 102 (66.07%) male and 121 (67.60%) female learners reported that they were taught about physical changes that occur during adolescence. In the same vein, most of the participants (n = 128, 84.39%) and (n = 152, 85.39%) males and females respectively claimed to have been taught about sexually transmitted diseases. CONCLUSION: In this study the secondary schools in the Limpopo Province of South Africa are making efforts to uphold and expose their learners to health education and promotion at school.

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