Intervention Study On Knowledge of Prevention of Vesicovaginal Fistula Among Secondary School Girls in Osun State

Vesico vaginal fistula (VVF) in Nigeria has been on increase in recent times. It has become a menace that plagues the lives of females. Women's health is one of the major health issues in Nigeria. VVF is the most common kind of acquired fistulae of the urinary tract and remains a major cause for concern in many developing countries. This demoralizing condition thus destroys the health and wellbeing of the victims. This study therefore was an intervention study on knowledge of prevention of vesico-vaginal fistula among secondary school girls in Ilesa-East LGA, Osun State preventive strategies of vesico-vaginal fistula among secondary school girls in Ilesa-East LGA, Osun State. A quasi-experimental research design pre-test and post-test two group was used, and a sample size of 176 respondents were available using convenient technique. A self-designed test question paper was used for data collection and it was validated and yielded a reliability coefficient (index) of 0.729. Two research questions and four hypotheses were formulated and tested. Analysis of data was done using descriptive statistics and t-test statistical analysis fixed at the .05 level of significance. The findings of the study on the pre-intervention mean score of participants on the prevention of vesico-vaginal fistula in the control group was 2.33±0.76 (38.8%) and 2.31±0.81 (38.5%) in the experimental group with a mean difference of 0.02; post-intervention skill mean score of participants on the knowledge of prevention of vesico-vaginal fistula in the control group was 2.57±0.93 (42.8%) and 4.93±1.01 (82.2%) in the experimental group with a mean difference of 2.36. It was revealed further that there was a significant difference in the knowledge of prevention (Mean difference = 2.36, t₍₁₇₄₎ = 4.57, p = .000) mean scores of participants on vesico-vaginal fistula in the control and experimental groups. In conclusion the intervention was able to improve knowledge of the respondents on prevention of vesico-vaginal fistula. Therefore, it is recommended that health education and advocacy be implemented as an important strategy to enhance young people’s sexual health knowledge.

Keywords: Knowledge, Prevention, Secondary School Girls, Vesico-vaginal Fistula,