IMPACT OF HEALTH EDUCATION ON KNOWLEDGE ON CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AMONG TEACHERS IN TWIN CITIES OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

Background: Child sexual abuse is a critical and neglected public health issue in Pakistan. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a health education intervention on knowledge of child sexual abuse among school teachers of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Methods: This interventional community trial was conducted in eight private schools in Islamabad and Rawalpindi from March to June 2018. Schools were randomly selected and the study participants consisted of female teachers above 20 years of age. Teachers were given knowledge regarding child sexual abuse by means of comprehensive presentations, videos and distribution of written educational materials. Data were collected by a pre-tested selfdesigned questionnaire which was completed by the study participants before and after the health education intervention. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 23. Paired t-test was used to determine the mean difference and McNemar's test was used for pairwise comparison of knowledge before and after the intervention.
Results: The mean age of teachers was 27.63 (±5.16) years and the average time spent in teaching profession was 5.44 (±3.58 years). The mean pre-workshop score was 10.06 (± 2.65) and the mean post-workshop score was 18.35 (± 1.28). The mean difference between these two scores was statistically significant (p <0.001). The total percentage of correct answers was 50.2% before the intervention and 90.8% after the intervention (p-value <0.001).
Conclusion: The health education intervention dispelled various myths and was successful in improving knowledge and awareness regarding child sexual abuse among school teachers in twin cities of Pakistan.