Health Promotions in Preschools

Abstract

The process of enabling increased control over one’s health and improving health is called health promotion. It is frequently carried out in schools to create awareness of certain health issues. Hand washing has a major impact on public health, and this seemingly trivial activity significantly reduces two leading causes of childhood mortality: diarrheal disease and acute respiratory infection. This paper delineates a teaching plan, which aimed at promoting health and wellbeing by creating awareness on handwashing and its importance in pre-school children. Nine children between three and five years took part in the seminar. Learners’ needs were determined by the administration of an oral and practical pre-test on hand washing and its importance. The three groups involved demonstrated the inadequacy of skills and knowledge of handwashing depending on the age. Learning styles and aids are chosen for the study including asking and answering questions, demonstration charts, group discussions, event descriptions and practical activities. Several aspects were chosen for discussion, and these included germs, hand washing, germ transmission by hands, and challenges of handwashing in children and how to overcome these challenges. After the study, the children demonstrated an excellent understanding of the topic and great interest in undertaking future health promotion activities.

Summary

Health promotion empowers individuals and populations to have control over their health and make informed decisions about health. Health promotion approaches are effective in improving overall health and wellbeing, reducing the burden of chronic disease and injury, facilitating the better use of resources and enhancing economic productivity. Hand washing is the act of keeping the hands clean using, or without using, water or another liquid, or with the use of soap, for the purpose of removing soil, dirt, or microorganisms. Hand washing helps in the reduction of germ acquisition, cross-contamination and childhood mortality (Luby et al., 2004). This paper aims at promoting health and wellbeing by creating awareness on handwashing and reinforcing the importance of this in pre-school children.

Assessment of Learning Needs

The learning group consisted of nine preschool children, who were divided into three groups depending on age as follows: group 1 (three years), group 2 (four years), and group 3 (five years). Children’s prior knowledge of handwashing and its importance was assessed through an oral and practical pre-test in the respective groups. After the pretest, children in group one did not seem to have handwashing skills or the knowledge of its importance. The children in this group reported that they only washed their hands as ordered by their guardians, and most of the time, they did this involuntarily. Those in group two demonstrated handwashing skills, but they did not know why it was imperative. Children in group three demonstrated proper handwashing skills as well as good knowledge of its importance and outcome. In addition, they did it voluntarily without guardian supervision. All the children were equally exposed to the same environment, but age seemed to be the main cause of diversity in their skills and understanding of hand washing. Learning styles and aids are chosen for the study included asking and answering questions, discussing charts, group discussions, event descriptions, and practical activities.

Learner Objectives

The learning objectives of this hand washing teaching plan were as follows;

1. Affective domain: The children are willing to attend the session and actively engage in the outlined activities
2. Cognitive domain: Children are able to give all the instances when hand washing is recommended, and why handwashing is important
3. Psychomotor domain: Children are able to demonstrate the steps involved during hand washing

In addition, the instructor upholds flexibility to ensure that learners’ needs are met.

Teaching plan

The following teaching aspects were implemented during the seminar;

1. Pre-assessment: prior to the actual learning, the children were pre-tested on their knowledge about handwashing. The following topics were of focus:

• Description of hand washing
• Importance of handwashing

2. Hand washing concepts relayed via group discussions, charts and demonstrations, explanations and answering questions. The concepts included:

1. 1. Germs

This concept was explained by the instructor using charts and practical examples. Group discussions were included to enhance comprehension of the concepts presented. In addition, the children were allowed to ask questions concerning germs and other related issues. The following questions were used to guide discussion in the respective groups:

1. 1. What are germs? Where are they found? What factors are favorable for their growth? What do they do to our bodies?
   2. How are germs transmitted? Which ones are transmitted by contaminated hands?

2. 2. Hand washing. The following activities were included during the presentation:

1. 1. Defining hand washing, discussing its importance and when to wash hands.
   2. Charts demonstration and practical description of hand washing.
   3. Discussing hand Sanitizers as alternatives to soap and water.

3. 3. Germs transmission by hands. The following topics were presented:

1. 1. Normal organisms are found on our hands and those found on the patient’s skin and in the environment.
   2. Organism transfer and survival on our hands.
   3. Poor cleansing of hands and its consequences.

4. 4. Challenges of handwashing in children and how to overcome them.
   5. Steps of handwashing through practical demonstrations (World Health Organization, 2009)

1. 1. Wet hands
   2. Adequate application of soap
   3. Lathering and scrubbing of all areas of the hands for at least 15 seconds
   4. Rinsing the hands thoroughly under running water
   5. Drying hands with a paper towel
   6. Closing tap with a paper towel

Evaluation of Teaching and Learning

This event was carried out in a local preschool, and it exposed the children to the actual environment they live in by enhancing their understanding of germs. The teaching plan was clear and concise, and it facilitated complete coverage of the learning objectives within the allocated time. All children participated in the discussions and the answering of questions. This participation was important to help determine if the children understood the topics well. They were allowed to comment and ask questions about the topics of discussion or any other related topics. All the children showed great interest in handwashing activities and requested more health promotion seminars from time to time. Children in groups one and two promised to practice hand washing at all times. Most of the children in group one promised to practice handwashing and to seek help from their guardians while washing their hands. The children also requested a more detailed seminar on practical germs identification to give them insight into the shapes and sizes of germs and the diseases caused by contaminated hands. The pre-assessment indicated that children in group three were already cautious about hand washing, and they understood the essence of this concept adequately well. Hand washing interrupts the transmission of disease agents; thus, significantly reducing diarrhea, respiratory infections, skin infections and trachoma (World Health Organization, 2009; Curtis & Cairncross, 2003). Equally important, all children should have access to suitable water handwashing facilities to reinforce this concept of hand washing. The knowledge of germs and hand hygiene motivated the children to create awareness among other children who were not part of the learning group.

References

Curtis V.,& Cairncross, S. (2003). Effect of washing hands with soap on diarrhea risk in the community: a systematic review. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 3(5), 275-281.

Luby, S. P., Agboatwalla, M., Painter, J., Altaf, A., Billhimer, W. L., & Hoekstra, R. M.. (2004). Effect of intensive handwashing promotion on childhood diarrhea in high-risk communities in Pakistan: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 291(21), 2547-54.

World Health Organization. (2009). WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care. Web.