Assessment of knowledge of adolescent health problems among secondary school teachers in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Background: Adolescents are susceptible to a range of health issues that might have significant impact on their growth and academic achievement, and teachers should have knowledge of these health problems in order to help, encourage and foster healthy habits. The study investigated knowledge adolescent health problems among secondary school teachers in Bayelsa state.
Method: The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey research design that lasted from 23rd April to 16 August, 2023. A sample size of 318 secondary school teachers were selected for the study. The study adopted multi-stage sampling procedure. Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The research questions were analyzed using frequency and percentages while the hypotheses were tested using t-test in the SPSS version 26.
Results: The findings revealed that, majority of respondents were male 165 (52.5%), while 149 (47.5%) were female. Secondary school teachers possess good knowledge of adolescent health problems (72.0%), their causes (68.7%) and preventive measures (68.6). Significant difference was recorded on respondents’ knowledge on adolescent health problems based on gender ((t = 8.788; df = 312; p < 0.010) and location (t = 8.788; df = 312; p < 0.014).
Conclusion: Secondary school teachers in Bayelsa State possess satisfactory knowledge of adolescent health problems, their causes and preventive measures.