A Comparative Study of Secondary School Students' Health Awareness in Barbaruah Block, Dibrugarh District, Assam, India

Abstract

Students in secondary school who are conscious of their health is crucial for establishing lifelong healthy behaviours and reducing future health risks. Understanding the factors influencing health awareness can inform targeted interventions in educational settings. This study examined students ' levels of health knowledge in secondary school in Barbaruah Block and assessed differences based on age group, sex, medium of instruction, and locality. A cross-sectional investigation was carried out with 60 secondary school students. Health awareness was measured using average scores (AVARG). Non-parametric tests including Kruskal-Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U test were employed due to non-normal distribution of data. The mean health awareness score was 0.60. There were notable variations among the age groups (χ² = 9.170, p = 0.010), with students below 15 years and 15 years showing higher awareness than those above 15 years. There were no obvious differences between male and female students (U = 350.000, p = 0.104), between Assamese and English medium students (U = 350.000, p = 0.104), or disparity between students in urban and rural areas (U = 376.500, p = 0.231). Age significantly influences students in secondary school who are conscious of their health, while sex, medium of instruction, and locality do not appear to be determining factors. These findings suggest that age-specific health education interventions may be more effective than sex-based or location-based approaches.