Addressing School Children Health Challenges (Non-communicable Diseases) in Delta State Through School and Community Based Sports
Chapter One
Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is to strengthen the health challenges awareness in local communities through community based sports programmes approach.
The specific objectives are:
- To identify and analyze the community based football programmes in health challenges intervention in the study locations.
- To explore the factors militating against acceptance of community based football programmes in the study
- To suggest ways that Diseases eradication can be more effectively communicated for a lasting and sustainable result.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
This chapter reviews several literature onhealth communication, communication for polio eradication intervention and immunization, diseases intervention and communication framework by UNICEF and polio vaccine supply.
Central to human survival is maintaining a good health for better productivity. Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO 1948). Global attention is on health communication especially communicating Dieases eradication to achieve Dieases disease-free and healthier society. Children are the future leaders of tomorrow and the effect of Dieases results in physical impairment of the arm or leg. Hence, it is paramount to communicate the dangers of Dieases and importance and use of the vaccine for a healthier society.
Contextualizing Health Communication
Before delving into health communication, it is pertinent to explain the term communication itself. Communication is essential because it is vital in the existence of mankind. Communication involves sharing, understanding and knowledge creation between people. It is a process of transmitting and receiving information on a particular issue between people. Communication for Development Roundtable Report (2004:7) postulates that:
Without communication, there can be no democracy and without democracy, there can be no liberation and development because communication is important to development and nation building. Communication holds the key to progress, change and stability of democratic institutions upon which life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of the nation rest.
Communication paves way for participation and sustainable development through behaviour and attitude change which will bring about nation building. People must be given the right to communicate because if people lack this right then democracy seizes to exist. The right to freedom of speech brings about proper understanding of a people or individual and what they know and believe. As Igbuzor (2006) stated „education is a right that should be accorded to all human beings solely by reason of being human.‟ More so, communication is a right that should be accorded to all human beings solely by reason of being human. The public needs to exercise this right of being human by expressing their concerns and knowledge about issues that affect their lives as well as how it should be communicated. Information from health practitioners and local people should be harnessed for the benefit of all. This right needs to be given to them through proper communication approach. Sharing of information between rural dwellers and health experts on health matters bridges the gap of distrust and creates an enabling environment for decision making that will enhance adjustment of behaviours for better health condition.
Health communication has been defined in different perspectives by different people. According to the Office of Disease and health Promotion (2015:87):
Health communication is the study and use of communication strategies to inform and influence individuals and community decisions that affect health. It links the fields of communication and health and is increasingly recognized as a necessary element of efforts to improve personal and public health. It is a technique and a field of study involving the communication of health related information to a variety of audience with different levels of education in health and science.
Health communication uses different approaches to reach its audiences in order to share health related information with the aim of influencing and persuading individuals, communities, policy makers and the public to introduce, adopt and practice new attitudes and behaviours that will eventually improve health outcomes. Health Communication empowers people by providing them with knowledge and understanding about specific health problems and interventions. Healthy People (2010) illustrate the rising significance of health communication and projects that health communication is seen to have importance for almost every facet of health and human well-being which includes disease prevention, health promotion, health care policy and quality of life. This has gone beyond the activities of the policy makers and government to promoting health by equipping the public with the necessary information needed. Therefore, massive efforts to improve knowledge about detection, prevention, and treatment have been undertaken.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
The importance of methodology to a research work cannot be over emphasized, as it is very necessary for a researcher to have a designed arrangement as regards the way to gather data. This study explored qualitative and quantitative research methods to generate data. These methods are suitable because they engender adequate interaction with the respondents to get hold of salient and underlying information on the study.
Study Population
The population used for this study included inhabitants of settlements in Okere ward with population size of 4554 and Obodo ward with the population size of 2329 (Volunteer Community Mobilizer Micro Census December 2015) in Warri Local Government Area where Volunteer Community Mobilizer Network operates. Also, members of Volunteer Community Mobilizer Network; supervisors, communicators and vaccinators among others, also constitute the population of this study.
Sampling Technique/ Size
For the purpose of this study, cluster sampling being a probability sampling technique was used to choose Okere and Obodo wards which share similar characteristics and are located in same Local Government Area where Volunteer Community Mobilizer Network operates. In reducing the population to a sample size used to investigate the phenomenon, the Raosoft Online Sample Size Calculator (2016) was used to determine the sample size of the known estimated population of 6883 persons (a total of Okere and Obodo population size).
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Introduction
This chapter deals with the presentation of results and discussion of data gathered for the study. This study adopted both the quantitative and qualitative methods of research for the data collection and analysis. The quantitative data gathered through questionnaire were analyzed while the qualitative data from the conducted focus group discussion and key informant interview were used to support the findings of the quantitative data.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
RECOMMENDATIONS
A sense of program ownership was evident as students articulated suggestions to ensure better implementation in the future. They suggested that:
- It is better to conduct the activity during holidays or
- They revealed their satisfaction after exhausting all efforts to conduct the activity, knowing they have realized their goals.
(iii).They expressed the need for enough equipment. Including balls, cones, markers, bibs, shoes and others.
(iv). Another suggestion was for the establishment of a ―Sport for Community Development Center‖ in the university which will be useful for sports-focused Service-Learning activities.
(v). The program must be expanded to include distant communities which are not reached by social action activity and where the need is highly felt.
(vi). It was recommended that the Sports Science Service-Learning program will include other disciplines or sports for the development of lifetime skills.
Follow-up activities
As a follow up, another S-L training was done in August 2016, this time focusing on health and sports leadership skills. In January and February 2023, 50 university students from different disciplines were trained on coaching with students—who were later grouped— conducting their own sports training in five communities.
Conclusion
For a long time, university life in Nigeria had been focused mainly on the education of the mind, considering the long socio-political situation in the country. Consequently, distance learning became popular. Structured community service and engagement was hardly a part of the curricular content. With universities expanding their vision and mission in the past years, the idea of serving communities was readily embraced by the schools and students, who saw an occasion for using their knowledge and skills gained in the classroom for sharing, especially in promoting not only sports skills, but also and more significantly, in increasing awareness among young people on a health concern, like HIV-AIDS. The students‘ comments, evaluation and journals are testimonials to their realization that they can use their knowledge and skills through social action that promotes citizenship building and civic pride by helping mold the younger generation. Their appreciation of their pioneering S-L experience spurred them to continue and expand the program to cover more social concerns.
The pioneering program had its share of shortcomings—from equipment and materials to time constraints and inconsistent participation by some students and children, but what the team leader said summarizes the impact of the Service Learning experience among Edo state Sports Science students: ―I am glad I was part of the first-ever S-L activity in the university and, perhaps, in the country. We had some limitations but we knew we had to do it. We will look back to the experience as an occasion to serve the children of Nigeria‖.
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