Research Article

ASSESSMENT AND DETERMINANTS OF SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CARE PRACTICES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS LOCATED WITHIN AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

C. I. AYABIOGBE1, Shehu HARANDE1, Abdulkabir Toriola YUSUF1*, Umar YUSUF2
1 Department of Health Education, Federal University of Education Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria
2 Department of Primary Education, Federal University of Education Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
* Corresponding author: y.toriola@yahoo.com
Published: Jun, 2026
Pages: 255-269
Views: 38
Downloads: 16

Abstract

School health services (SHS) are essential for promoting students’ well-being, yet their implementation inNigerian schools remains uneven. This study assessed SHS practices in secondary schools within Ahmadu BelloUniversity, Zaria, with emphasis on school type, student attitudes, and organizational structures, in order todetermine whether being in a university community translates to improved practice. A cross-sectional researchdesign was employed, using a multistage sampling method to select 346 consenting students across threesecondary schools located within Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. A semi-structured questionnaire wasadministered to collect information on respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics. Attitudes toward SHSwere assessed using a 5-point scale, with scores ≤ 34 classified as negative and scores > 34 classified as positive.The mean attitude score was 34.82 ± 7.91. The practice of school-based health care was categorized as poor (≤18),moderate (>18–36), and good (>27), with a mean practice score of 18.37 ± 3.51. Quantitative data were analyzedusing descriptive statistics for socio-demographic characteristics and inferential statistics, including Chi-squareand logistic regression tests, at a significance level of p = 0.005, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically.The mean age of the respondents was 13.25 ± 1.652 years, ranging from 10 to 19 years. Findings revealed thatonly 49.1% of respondents demonstrated good SHS practice, while 57.8% exhibited negative attitudes. Hypothesistesting showed significant associations between school type and SHS practice (χ² =93.360, p

Keywords

Attitude School Health Services Secondary School Logistic Regression Zaria

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How to Cite

AYABIOGBE, C. I., HARANDE, S., YUSUF, A. T., & YUSUF, U. (2026). ASSESSMENT AND DETERMINANTS OF SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CARE PRACTICES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS LOCATED WITHIN AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA. Journal of Educational Research and Development, 21(1), 255-269.

C. I. AYABIOGBE, S. HARANDE, A. T. YUSUF, and U. YUSUF, "ASSESSMENT AND DETERMINANTS OF SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CARE PRACTICES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS LOCATED WITHIN AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA," Journal of Educational Research and Development, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 255-269, June 2026.

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