Page 15 - nhmis2012 Sabah dan labuan

Executive Summary SABAH AND W.P. LABUAN GSHS 2012

Executive Summary

The 2012 Sabah and W.P. Labuan GSHS was conducted from 23 February to 26 April 2012 involving
Form 1 to 5 students from 17 schools throughout Sabah and W.P. Labuan.The survey used two-stage
cluster sampling design. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of health-related
behaviors, risky behaviors and protective factors among secondary school students in Sabah andW.P
Labuan. The survey was administered using a self-administered questionnaire. The response rate at
school level was 100%, with a students’response rate of 87.6% (1,689 of 1,924 students responded).

Key Findings

About 60.0% of students who were ever drinkers had their ^rst drink of alcohol before the age of 14
years.The prevalence of current alcohol use was 12.0% and about one third of them had bought their
alcoholic drinks from shops. Drunkenness was reported in 10.6% of the students. In relation to dietary
behaviour, 5.8% of the students were at risk of becoming underweight, while 6.4% were at risk of
becoming obese. In the past 30 days, only 31.8% of the students consumed fruits and vegetables at
least ^ve times per day and one third of them drank carbonated drinks at least once daily. As for drug
use, 98.3% of the students reported they had never used drugs.

Overall, 2.8% of the students reported brushing their teeth less than once daily and 88.1% brushed
at least twice daily. Only 54.5% of the students reported using _uoridated toothpaste. In the past 30
days, 4.7% never or rarely wash their hand after using the toilet and 11.6% never or rarely use soap
when washing their hands. Suicidal ideation, suicide plan and attempted suicide were noted among
8.8%, 7.9% and 7.2% of the students respectively. The inability to sleep at night due to worry was
noted among 6.9% of students, while loneliness was found in 8.8% of students and 3.2% of students
reported having no close friend.

With regards to physical activity 21.0% of the students had been active, in the past seven days while
almost half had been engaged in sedentry activities. Parental or guardian supervision was reported
in 14.3% of the students, while 30.6 claimed they had parental or guardian connectedness and 37.5%
reported parental or guardian bonding. Truancy was reported in 32.7% of the students.

This study found that 9.6% of the students ever had sex. Among those who ever had sex, 46.4% used
of birth control methods other than use of condom the last time they had sex. About 14.8% of the
students were current cigarettes smokers. Among those who ever smoked, more than one third had
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 and 40.1% reported they had parents or
guardian who used any form of tobacco. Notably, 31.9% and 29.3% of the students had been
physically attacked and involved in a physical ^ght respectively, with 34.8% having been seriously
injured. Having been bullied was reported in 19.0% of the students while 12.8% had been physically
abused at home.

Recommendations

Based on these ^ndings, the following recommendations are made:

i. Psychosocial factors that contribute to violence and mental health problems particularly
suicidal behaviors need to be further explored.
ii. Further in-depth studies are recommended to be conducted by relevant agencies to identify
factors that may contribute to truancy and violence.

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