The effect of play-based health education intervention on hand-washing behaviors in nursery school children:  An intervention study

Dilek Yılmaz; Cevriye Yüksel Kaçan; Gülşen Goncagül; Nimet Haşıl Korkmaz; Kemal Yılmaz

doi:10.26900/hsq.3129

Authors

Dilek Yılmaz Bursa Uludağ University / Türkiye 0000-0001-7269-8493
Cevriye Yüksel Kaçan Bursa Uludağ University / Türkiye 0000-0002-1316-8617
Gülşen Goncagül Bursa Uludağ University / Türkiye 0000-0003-4331-9698
Nimet Haşıl Korkmaz Bursa Uludağ University / Türkiye 0000-0001-7648-3289
Kemal Yılmaz Bursa Uludağ University / Türkiye 0000-0002-8502-1390

10.26900/hsq.3129

Abstract

Health education programs are crucial for instilling proper hand-washing behaviors in nursery school children. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of play-based health education intervention applied by multiple teaching methods on the hand-washing behaviors of nursery school children. The study was a quasi-experimental study with a single-group pre-test and post-test research design, and the research was conducted with children attending a government nursery school in the Marmara region of Türkiye. A game-based health education intervention was implemented, incorporating multiple teaching methods, to instill proper handwashing habits in the children. Approximately fifteen days after the end of the education intervention, the study post-test was applied. The hand-washing pre-test score mean of the children participating in the study was 5.70±1.08, while the post-test mean was found to be 11.33±1.78. In the results of statistical analysis, a significant difference was found between the hand-washing score means of the children before and after play-based education intervention (p=0.000). As a conclusion of the study, it was found that play-based health education intervention including more than one education method had a significantly positive effect on the stages of correct hand-washing behaviors in nursery school children.

Keywords:

Health education play-based health education hand-washing behaviors school health

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