Morbidity Pattern and Personal Hygiene in Children Among Private Primary School in Urban Area: Are the Trends Changing?

INTRODUCTION: School health is an important intervention as a great deal of research tells us that schools can have a major effect on children's health, by teaching them about health and promoting healthy behaviors. AIMS: The aim of this study is to determine common health problems and assess personal hygiene status among primary school children. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted in academic years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, with three health check-up camps organized in private primary school of Pune city. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 450 students were assessed for health problems and composite score of personal hygiene status was calculated ranging from 0 to 5 by examination of hairs, nails, skin and clothes. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Proportions calculated with application of Chi-square test and Pearson co-efficient applied to observe the relation between two quantitative variables. RESULTS: Out of 450 students examined, 56.2% were boys and 43.8% were girls with age ranging from 5 to 10 years. The major morbidities observed were dental caries (65.1%), upper respiratory tract infections (38.2%), ear wax (29.9%) and myopia (10.0%). Mean hygiene score was significantly higher in girls (4.32) than boys (3.95) and poor hygiene observed in older boys. CONCLUSION: Increasing myopia and poor dental hygiene denotes a changing morbidity pattern in private primary school of the urban area. The hygiene status of the girls is significantly better than boys.