Page 15 - nhms2012 Perlis

Executive Summary PERLIS GSHS 2012

Executive Summary

The 2012 Perlis GSHS was conducted from 23 February to 26 April 2012 involving Form 1 to 5 students
from 14 schools throughout Perlis. The survey used a two-stage cluster sampling design. The
objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of health-related behaviours, risky
behaviours and protective factors among secondary school students in Perlis. The survey was
administered using a self-administered questionnaires. The response rate at school level was 100%,
with a students’response rate a 86.3% (1,560 of 1,807 students responded).

Key Findings

About 31.4% ever drinkers had their _rst drink of alcohol before the age of 14 years. The prevalence
of current alcohol use was 4.7%. In relation to dietary behaviour, 9.0% of the students were at risk of
becoming underweight, while 13.4% students were at risk of becoming obese. In the past 30 days,
only 29.9% of the students consumed fruits and vegetables at least _ve times daily and almost one
third of them drank carbonated drinks at least once daily. As for drug use, 2.1% of the students
reported ever used drug.

Overall, 2.0% of the students reported brushing their teeth less than once daily and 87.9% brushed
at least twice daily. Only 72.2% of students reported using `uoridated toothpaste. In the past 30 days,
4.2% never or rarely wash their hands after using the toilet and 10.4% never or rarely used soap when
washing their hands. For mental health assessment suicidal ideation, suicide plan and attempted
suicide were noted among 5.8%, 4.9% and 4.9% of the students respectively. With regard to physical
activity, 22.4% of the students found to be active in the past seven days, while almost half of them
were engaged in sedentary activities. Parental or guardian supervision was reported in 15.7% of the
students, while one third of them claimed had parental or guardian connectedness and almost half
had reported parental or guardian bonding. Truancy was reported in 35.6% of the students.

This study found that 7.2% of students ever had sex, with almost three quaters of them had sex for the
_rst time before the age of 14 years. About 11.6% of the students were current cigarette smokers.
Among those who ever smoked, almost three quaters _rst tried a cigarette before the age of 14 years.
Almost half of the students reported exposure to secondhand smoke from people smoking in their
presence, while more than half claimed they had parents or guardians who used any form of tobacco.
Notably, 25.9% and 26.5% of the students were physically attacked and involved in a physical _ght
respectively, with 38.1% who had serious injury. Having been bullied was reported in 15.3% of the
students, while 8.8% had been physically abused at home.

Recommendations

In cognizance of the _ndings, the following recommendations are made:

i. Use of creative and innovative approaches such as engaging social media to promote healthy
life styles particularly on increasing physical activity and reducing consumption of unhealthy
fast food and increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, need to be explored.
ii. The habit of taking breakfast among students needs to be promoted through approaches suc
as allocating speci_c time for breakfast in school.

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