An Assessment of School Health Services in Private and Public Primary Schools in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The School Health Service is to help children at school to achieve the maximum health possible for them to obtain full benefit from their education. This study aimed to examine the differ-ence in the knowledge and practice of school health services between public and private primary schools in Ado Ekiti.Methods: This was a comparative cross-sectional study of public and private primary schools. A multistage sampling technique was used to recruit 425 teachers in 80 public and private schools into the study. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire and observational checklist were used for data collection. Data were analysed using SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics such as per-centages, the sample mean, and frequency tables were done. Inferential statistics were used to test for associations between categorical variables and statistical significance set at p-value < 0.05.Results: The mean age of the teachers in public schools was 42.0 ± 7.5 years, compared to 30.46 ± 7.2 years for teachers in private schools. Married teachers in public and private schools were 202 (92.7%) and 125 (60.4%) respectively. In the public schools, 64 (29.4%) teachers had more than 15 years’ experience and 11 (5.3%) in private schools. More than half of the teachers in both public and private schools had good knowledge of school health services, 118 (59.0%) and 89 (55.3%) respec-tively with p value of 0.477. Only 4 (10%) of the public schools investigated had good practice of school health service while it was 23 (57.5%) in private schools, this was statistically significant with p value of 0.001.Conclusions: There was no significant difference between the knowledge of school health services among teachers of public and private schools. School health services were better practiced in private schools when compared to public schools. Advocacy for strategies that promote a more comprehensive practice of school health services is especially recommended in public schools.