Byline: Rahele Hashemi Habybabady, Alireza Ansari-Moghaddam, Ramazan Mirzaei, Mahdi Mohammadi Marzieh Rakhshani and Abdolali Khammar
Abstract
Objectives: To investigate the usefulness of a back care education programme on the promotion of knowledge and behaviour of fifth-grade elementary schoolchildren in terms of reducing risk factors for low back pain later in life. Methods: Multi-stage random sampling was used to classify the pupils in one of the intervention or control groups. A validated questionnaire was filled out by each subject before the educational programme, and a week and three months afterwards.
Results: Improvement in knowledge and behaviour of pupils was observed a week and three months after the intervention (P less than 0.001) with no significant difference between the boys and the girls. However, a decreasing trend was observed in knowledge and behaviour pattern form a week to three months after the intervention. Conclusion: Considering back care education in the school curriculum is recommended for long-term sustainability of an educational programme.
Keywords: Back care, Behavior, Education, Elementary schoolchildren, Knowledge (JPMA 62: 580; 2012).
Introduction
Most of the adults (70-80%) worldwide experience low back pain (LBP) at some point in their lifetime.1 Of these, 80-85% are attributed to non-specific back pain.2,3 Limited studies in Iran reported a seven-day prevalence of LBP as 23.4% in the rural area of north-west and 15.4% in capital Tehran.4,5
Worldwide, LBP in childhood is also a major health issue with an annual prevalence of 19-58% in grad schoolchildren from grade 8 to 12.6 The point and annual prevalence rate of non- specific LBP for 11-14 years-old children in the north of Iran were estimated to be 15% and 17.4% respectively.7 The prevalence rate approaches to that in adults over school age and it is higher among girls than the boys.3,8
LBP risk factors in schoolchildren can be divided into four groups; lifestyle, physical, psychological and school- related factors.9 Widespread proliferation of information technology and modern media, carrying heavy backpacks, seating mostly on mismatched furniture for a long time, and paying less attention to the child behaviour by parents result in LBP.6,10-14 Therefore, school back care education for elementary schoolchildren has the advantage of giving prolonged feedback and access to a large population.2,9,15
Back care education has been under the spotlight for a long time in industrial countries. Several studies have illustrated the effects of various education programmes (e.g. basic pack pain principles, physical activities, guidelines for parents and teachers) on knowledge and behaviour of schoolchildren.9,15,16 Further studies granted long-term effect and stability of back care education by conducting a well- designed back education intervention.17-20
The impact of education programme may not be similar in all countries with different school education systems, infrastructures and lifestyles. Lecture-based education system, limited space allocated to each child in school, mismatched school furniture with children body size, limited time for physical activities and inadequate sports facilities at school, spending long time commuting to school, inappropriate furniture at home while studying and watching TV can have an adverse impact on children behaviour and lessen...