ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE OF TOILET INFECTION PREVENTIVE MEASURES AMONG BOARDING SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NORTH EAST, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed the knowledge of toilet infection preventive measures among boarding secondary school students in North
East, Nigeria. To achieve this purpose, descriptive survey research design was used. The population for this study was twenty-
five thousand seven hundred and seventy-three (25,773) female students in boarding secondary schools across North-East
Nigeria. The sample size of 378 was selected using multistage sampling procedures which include stratified, simple random,
purposive, and proportionate sampling. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire developed by the
researcher. The instrument was pilot-tested using Cronbach Alpha and a 0.851 coefficient value was obtained. The Descriptive
statistics of frequency and simple percentages were used to analyze the demographic characteristics of the respondents. The
research question was answered using mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics of one-sampled t-test was used to
test the stated hypothesis at a 0.05 level of significance. The result revealed that the knowledge of toilet infection preventive
measures is significant (t = 23.451; p = 0.000). Based on the results, the study concluded that the boarding secondary school
students in North East, Nigeria have knowledge of toilet infection preventive measures. Based on the conclusion, the study
recommends the need for the school management to implement comprehensive educational programmes to reinforce and
maintain the high level of knowledge among boarding secondary school students in North East, Nigeria regarding toilet
infection preventive measures.