Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Program Regarding Knowledge of Drug Abuse Among Students

Abstract

Background: Substance abuse among school students is a major and serious health issue. The most alarming fact is that the age for taking substance abuse is progressively falling. There is a paucity of literature on the effectiveness of existing interventions or awareness program to reduce the drug use among students in underdeveloped countries. It would be vital to examine the knowledge of students regarding drug abuse and should administer health education on the awareness and health hazards to prevent and control drug abuse. Aim of the study: Aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of structured teaching program regarding knowledge of drug abuse among school students. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was chosen, one group pre and post-test design was used. Simple random sampling technique was used. The sample size was 100 high school students with mean age of 17.63 years. Data were collected by administering a knowledge questionnaire before and after the health education programme. Results: The result showed that the school students, in general, having some knowledge regarding drug abuse in the pre-test and the mean knowledge score was 28.92. There was a marked gain in knowledge in post-test score that was 41.19. It indicates a significant improvement in students’ knowledge. Conclusion: Study shows that knowledge of drug abuse and behavior of the students can be changed by educational interventions.

Keywords- Effectiveness, Structured teaching programme, knowledge, Drug abuse, Student.

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-1-12