A Comparative Study to Assess the Health Behaviour among the Adolescents in Selected Government High Schools of Urban and Rural Areas of Kamrup District, Assam
Abstract: Introduction: Health behaviour is the activity undertaken by individuals for the purpose of maintaining or enhancing their health, preventing health problems or achieving positive body image. Actions that can be classified as Health Behaviours are many; examples including smoking, substance use, diet, physical activity, sleep, risky sexual activities, health care seeking behaviours and adherence to prescribed medical treatment. Adolescents are the young people aged between 10-19 years. It is a transitional stage of physical, physiological and psychological development. Morbidity and mortality occurring in this age group is mostly due to preventable causes. The heath status of an adolescent determines the health status in his/her adulthood. This comparative study was conducted on the health behaviour among the adolescents of selected government high schools of urban and rural areas of Kamrup District, Assam. Methods: It was a comparative descriptive study. Sample size was 144. Data were collected by using a self structured questionnaire, in the month of March, 2020. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Results: Findings of the present study revealed that in urban area, majority i.e. 63.9% of the adolescents had moderately adequate health Behaviour score while 31.9% had inadequate and 4.2% had adequate Health Behaviour score. In rural area, majority 65.3% had moderately adequate Health Behaviour score while 33.3% had adequate and 1.4% had inadequate Health Behaviour score. Mean score percentage of overall Health Behaviour among urban adolescents was 74.18% and among rural adolescents was 82.40%. Mean score was 89.02 (?6.61) for urban area and 98.88 (?5.90) for rural area. Area wise analysis of Health Behaviour showed that highest mean score was obtained for tobacco use (18.88?1.96) and lowest mean score was obtained for exercise pattern (9.06?2.56) in urban area. In rural area, highest mean score was obtained for tobacco use (19.85?2.91) and lowest mean score was obtained for exercise pattern (10.89?2.14). Comparison of overall Health Behaviour by using unpaired t-test, revealed that there was a significant difference of the overall Health Behaviour among the Adolescents in selected government high schools of urban and rural area. (t=9.44, P
Keywords: Adolescents, Health behaviour, Government high school, Urban, Rural, Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep pattern, Alcohol, Tobacco, Drug
How to Cite?: Rituporna Dutta, Abha Rani Chamuah, "A Comparative Study to Assess the Health Behaviour among the Adolescents in Selected Government High Schools of Urban and Rural Areas of Kamrup District, Assam", Volume 10 Issue 7, July 2021, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1045-1050, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR21722141946, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR21722141946