KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF PERSONAL HYGIENE AMONG JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN KANO STATE NIGERIA.

This study investigated personal hygiene knowledge and practice among junior secondary
school students in Kano state. A descriptive research design of survey type was used for
the study. The population of the study comprised all students of junior secondary schools
in Kano state.Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select a sample of 400 students
for the study. The instrument used for this study was a researcher’s developed
questionnaire named Questionnaire on Personal Hygiene Practice among Junior
Secondary School Students (QPHKPAJSS). The instrument was validated and
standardized with a reliability index of 0.82. Four hundred (400) questionnaire were
administered and three hundred and ninety two (392) were duly completed and returned
for analysis. Frequency counts and percentages were used to describe the demographic
characteristics of the respondents, while chi-square was used to test the hypotheses at 95%
confidence level. The results of this study revealed that junior secondary school students
have significant knowledge of personal hygiene (x2= 211.592, P< 0.05). Junior secondary
school students significantly practice personal hygiene (x2 =457.689, p < 0.05). Based on
the finding of this study, it was recommended among others that Government should give
more emphasis on Health Education curriculums to help students to make decisions that
will affect their health positively.