Effectiveness of ‘Teen’s Health in a Healthy Way’ Package in Understanding One Health Concept to Adolescent

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Lead researcher:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rosnah Sutan, UKM  

Co-researchers:

Prof. Dr. Saleha Abdul Aziz, UPM Dr. Mohd Sham Othman, UKM  

Project Summary

An interactive package ‘Teen’s Health in a Healthy Way’ is designed to provide necessary preventive health information related to human, zoonosis, and environment (One Health). Being inquisitive and with a thirst for new knowledge, the adolescent group is targeted as a potential messenger to enhance population on current public health infectious disease prevention. A single group quasi-experimental study was conducted aimed to assess the effectiveness of “Teen’s Health in a Healthy Way’ in improving knowledge on preventive health information related to selected One Health. Thirty students of Form 1 classes were chosen randomly by the school counsellors from 3 secondary schools in Mukim Beranang, Selangor. Three components were used for the package intervention namely interactive talks, skill-enhancing activities (handwashing demonstration) and games (dart, word search, and jigsaw puzzle). For games activity, each school is divided into 3 smaller groups, and each game activity took 30 minutes to complete. Awareness and knowledge related to One Health diseases focus on disease presentations, causative agents, routes of transmission, treatment, and disease prevention practices were tested using self-administered pre- and post-questionnaires. The questionnaire consists of four components which are knowledge of the concept of One Health, Leptospirosis, Dengue Fever and Toxoplasmosis. A total of 83 teenagers (92.2% response rate) were recruited in the program that lasted for 2 hours with direct observation by their teachers. Zoonotic disease prevention banner, booklets and soft copy of all activities held were given to each school aimed at the sustainability of the program in the school. An analysis comparing the overall score of participants’ knowledge pre and post-intervention showed there was significant improvement mean of knowledge score after intervention program (t = – 15.08, p <0.001). The adolescent group can be used as an agent to disseminate information to their school colleagues using interactive gaming method like ‘Teen’s Health in a Healthy Way’ package.