Assessment of learners’ exposure to health education and promotion at school in the Limpopo Province of South Africa

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.