Authors:

Abstract

Introduction: Community nurses have a strategic role in improving clean and healthy living behaviour by providing health education to the community. Play therapy is one of the nursing interventions that can be a method of health education in school children.

Objective: To determine the effect of snakes and ladders board game with peers modelling approach in improving clean and healthy living behaviour of school children.

Method: The design is quasi experimental pre-test post-test with control group. Calculated sample size was 126 school chidren 6-12 years old who had a problem of lack of clean and healthy living behaviour. The researchers used simulation of snakes and ladders board game in four sessions over 1 month, staging each session for 45 minutes. Data collection tool was a questionnaire consisting of variable knowledge, attitudes, and clean and healthy living behaviour skills of school-age children. Data was analysed using the paired t-test.

Results: The parental education levels were low in 56% and the parental incomes were low in 58%. Around 75% of children had experienced a diarrhoeal disease in the previous 3 months. Handwashing facilities, clean water sources, and healthy latrines were readily available in 70.5%. Knowledge about clean and healthy living behaviour children increased from 44.7% to 60.9%, the child's attitude about clean and healthy living behaviour increased from 43,8% to 59.5% the skills of children of clean and healthy living behaviour increased from 41.2% to 55.7% after engaging in simulation of snakes and ladders board game. Alternatively, in the control group, there was no significant change in the values of the knowledge, attitude, and skills variables.

Conclusions: Simulation of snakes and ladders board game significantly increases knowledge, attitudes, and skills of clean and healthy living behaviour in school children.  

Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2020; 49(4): 341-346

Keywords: School children, snakes and ladders board game, clean and healthy living behaviour