| dc.description.abstract | The study investigated the level of knowledge about, perception on, and preventive practices against osteoporosis among teenagers in two high schools in Roxas City, Capiz, and the relationship between and among these variables. More specifically, the study aimed to determine the characteristic of the respondents in terms of age, sex, year level, educational attainment of their mothers, estimated family income, and type of school they are enrolled in. An attempt was also made to determine the relationship of the personal characteristics of respondents with their level of knowledge and their sources of information about osteoporosis, their perception on their susceptibility to and seriousness of the disease, and their level of preventive practices against osteoporosis.
The descriptive-relational method using a one-shot survey design was employed in the study. A survey questionnaire was used to collect the needed data.
Frequencies and means were used to analyze and interpret descriptive data while chi-square and gamma tests were used to analyze statistical data. Relationships between variables were tested at 5 percent level of significance. All results were computer generated using the SPSS PC Software.
Major Findings of the Study
The majority of the respondents were below 15 years old, were predominantly females and mostly belonging to the lower years of their secondary education. Most of the students come from low income families, but the parents of most have attained a college education
The respondents were found to have an average level of knowledge about osteoporosis. Their knowledge was mostly learned from television advertisements. Other sources of information included parents, teachers, magazines, nurses, classmates and friends, journals, radio, newspapers, and the Internet.
The majority of the respondents perceived that they can be susceptible to osteoporosis and perceived the disease to be serious. Their level of preventive practice against it was moderate, and these practices included not smoking, avoidance of alcoholic and carbonated drinks, milk intake, exposure to sunlight, and doing regular exercise.
Significant relationships were found between respondents’ age, year level and estimated monthly income of their families and their level of knowledge about osteoporosis, and between respondents’ age and year level and their perception on their susceptibility to and seriousness about the disease. The rest of the respondents’ personal characteristics namely, sex, type of school, and educational attainment of their mothers were found to be not significantly related to their level of knowledge and their perception on their susceptibility to and seriousness of the disease. All of respondents’ personal characteristics were not significantly related to their level of preventive practices against osteoporosis. Respondents’ level of knowledge of osteoporosis was found to be significantly related to their perception on their susceptibility to and seriousness of the disease but not to their level of preventive practices. Likewise, their level of preventive practices against osteoporosis was not significantly related to their perception on their susceptibility to and seriousness of the disease.
Conclusions
On the bases of the findings of the study, the following conclusions are arrived at:
1. The students have knowledge about osteoporosis and their main source of information is from broadcast media. Their knowledge about osteoporosis however, is not enough to make them realize the seriousness of the disease, their susceptibility to the disease and the extent to which preventive measures can be taken so that they can avoid getting the disease.
2. Schools and other healthcare providers have not taken an active role in the dissemination of information about the disease and in developing among teenagers an awareness about the disease, how it develops or how it can be avoided. With television as their main source of information about osteoporosis, there is a great possibility that they will get inaccurate information.
3. Teenagers take some preventive measures against osteoporosis, although not to a great extent. They are aware of the hazards brought about by smoking and drinking alcohol and carbonated drinks, and the benefits of drinking milk and doing a regular exercise to their health, particularly in making their bones strong.
4. Teenagers’ knowledge about osteoporosis increase with age and year level. Those coming from high income families tend to know more about the disease than those from low income families.
5. Teenagers’ age and year level influences their perception about their susceptibility to and seriousness of osteoporosis. The older ones and those who are in their upper years in high school tend to be more aware of their susceptibility to and seriousness of the disease.
6. The schools where teenagers are enrolled in affect their behavior in terms of preventive practices against osteoporosis. Their preventive practices are similar regardless of their age, sex, year level, estimated monthly income of their families, and educational attainment of their mothers.
7. When teenagers know more about osteoporosis, they are more aware of their susceptibility to and seriousness of the disease.
8. Teenagers’ knowledge about the disease, their perception on their susceptibility to and seriousness of the disease, and their behavior in terms of preventive practices against it are independent of each other.
Recommendations
Based on the conclusion drawn above, the researcher recommends the following,
1. Since there are still a number of teenagers whose level of knowledge about osteoporosis and the depth of knowledge of those who are aware of osteoporosis is superficial, the researcher recommends that education of this sector of population should be enhanced. The content of information on television commercials can be enhanced so that more information can be disseminated.
2. Educational planners and managers, and even classroom teachers must include topics about osteoporosis, specifically in health related subjects in the curriculum, most particularly on how it develops, its signs and symptoms, its complications, and preventive measures that can be undertaken so that at an early age, high school students can learn about how to avoid getting the disease.
3. Healthcare providers, particularly doctors and nurses, should take a more active role in massive information dissemination about osteoporosis addressing children and teenagers, in particular, so that the onset of the osteoporosis can be avoided. Forums, in partnership with the schools, the students, their parents, and even pharmaceutical companies, should be implemented, whenever possible, to make everyone aware of osteoporosis as a disease, the preventive measures that can be taken to guard against its onset.
4. Physicians should spend extra effort in discussing the disease among parents and adolescents. Such discussion should focus on the onset of the disease, which are not apparent in the early years but manifest late in life.
5. Parents should also be encouraged to discuss with their children health problems that are related to strengthening and/or weakening of the bones and how this can impact on their lives especially when they grow old.
6. The government programs and health policies should include ways to promote the dissemination of information about and against osteoporosis, such programs should be implemented, monitored and evaluated as to their effectiveness. The young especially the teenagers, should be included in their promotion and prevention programs.
7. A more in-depth research along this field of study should be conducted to further verify the findings of this study. The behavior of teenagers in each of the preventive aspect can be explored, as well as the effectiveness of health care givers and parents in the care of the teenagers with regards to disease that has onset in the young but manifest in the adult. | en_US |
