Effect of Educational Module on Knowledge of Primary School Teachers Regarding Early Symptoms of Childhood Psychiatric Disorders

CONTEXT: University-based pre-service educational programs do not adequately prepare the teachers to have sufficient knowledge and skill for identifying a wide variety of symptoms related to mental health disorders among children. AIMS: To assess the effect of educational module on knowledge of primary school teachers regarding early symptoms of childhood psychiatric disorders. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A pre experimental study on a sample of 35 primary school teachers was done in selected schools of Delhi. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Self-instructional module on early symptoms of childhood psychiatric disorders (SIM on ESCD) was developed. Data was collected by using standardized tools including the structured questionnaire for ‘Demographic and selected variables’ and pre-test knowledge questionnaire. The subjects were exposed to SIM on ESCD for a period of 15 days. Knowledge regarding early symptoms of childhood psychiatric disorders was assessed twice, first one being before exposure to module and the next one on 16(th) day of exposure to module. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed using statistical package STATA 9.0 version. RESULTS: Primary school teachers who have been teaching in government schools had high pre-test knowledge score than that in private sector. There was significant difference in mean knowledge score of primary school teachers before (9.71) and after (15.60) the administration of SIM on ESCD. Younger teachers and those who had less years of teaching experience had more knowledge gain score than those who were older and had more teaching experience. CONCLUSIONS: In the absence of adequate pre-service and in-service education of primary school teachers on early symptoms of childhood psychiatric disorders, SIM on ESCD is a highly effective and viable method for improving primary school teachers’ knowledge on early symptoms of childhood psychiatric disorders.