Page 15 - nhms 2012 Putrajaya

Executive Summary W.P. PUTRAJAYA GSHS 2012

Executive Summary

The 2012 W.P. Putrajaya GSHS was conducted from 23 February to 26 April 2012 involving Form 1 to
5 students from 8 schools throughout W.P. Putrajaya. The survey used a two-stage cluster sampling
design. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of health-related behaviors,
risky behaviors and protective factors among secondary school students inW.P. Putrajaya. The survey
was administered using a self-administered questionnaire.The response rate at school level was 100%,
with a students’a response rate 92.2% (1,914 of 2,076 students responded).

Key Findings

About 99.3% of the students reported did not consume alcoholic drink with 14 students admitted
consumed at least one drink containing alcohol in the past 30 days. In relation to dietary behaviour,
7.0% of the students were at risk of becoming underweight, while 11.3% at risk of becoming obese.
In the past 30 days, only 26.4% of the students consumed fruits and vegetables at least ^ve times per
day and one fourth of them drank carbonated drinks at least once daily. As for drug use, 99.1% of the
students reported never use drug with 18 students reported ever used drug.

Overall, 87.2% brushed at least twice daily. Only 66.7% of the students reported using _uoridated
toothpaste. In the past 30 days, 2.9% never or rarely wash their hands after using the toilet and 10.5%
never or rarely use soap when washing their hands. Suicidal ideation, suicidal plan and attempted
suicide were noted among 5.9%, 3.9% and 4.3% of the students respectively. The inability to sleep at
night due to worry was noted among 5.0% of the students, while loneliness was found in 9.3% and
2.1% reported having no close friend. With regards to physical activity, 29.7% were found to be active
in the past seven days, while more than half were engaged in sedentry activities. Parental or guardian
supervision was reported in 11.4% of the students, while one third of them claimed had parental or
guardian connectedness and less than half parental or guardian bonding. Truancy was reported in
20.9% of the students.

This study found that 8.4% of students ever had sex, with more than one third of them having had
sex for the ^rst time before the age of 14 years. About 8.0% of the students were current cigarettes
smokers. Among those who ever smoked, three quarters ^rst tried a cigarette before the age of 14
years. More than one third of the students reported exposure to secondhand smoke from people
smoking in their presence, while one third claimed had parents or guardian who used any form of
tobacco. Notably, 25.0% and 23.8% of the students were physically attacked and involved in a physical
^ght respectively, with 28.8% who had serious injury. Having been was reported in 17.6% of the
students while 8.1% had been physically abused at home.

Recommendations

Based on these ^ndings, some of the recommendations are listed below:

i. Psychosocial factors that contribute to mental health problems need to be further explored.
ii. 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, need to be explored.
iii. More e\ort is needed to strengthen parenting skills through government, private, NGOs and
community platforms towards more condusive home environment.
iv. Further in-depth comparative studies are recommended to be conducted by relevant agencies
to identify factors that could possibly contribute to the favourable ^ndings. This will enable
other states to adopt the relevant approaches towards more positive behavioural pattern and
holistic health outcomes among the students.

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