THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STRUCTURED EDUCATIONAL MODULES FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS ON THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN IDENTIFICATION OF COMMON MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS IN SELECTED SCHOOLS OF BANGALORE DISTRICT

Abstract

The teacher plays a significant role in the promotion of the health of the children Teachers spend most of the school hours with children and are familiar with them They can detect the signs and symptoms of common mental health problems at the earliest in the classroom setting It is expected that out of 51 lakh children 6 11 years of age approximately 5 lakh 98 children suffer from mental health problems in Karnataka But there is no organized school mental health programme for teachers in Karnataka There is no record of active participation of teachers in the school mental health programme in Anekal Taluk However there are opportunistic school health programme in Taluks There is no full time school health nurses assigned to these schools Children under 15 years of age constitute 40 of the total population The world Health Organization had declared that one in five children in the world is challenged It is a serious obstacle to a childs development In developed countries such as United States prevalence rate for childhood chronic illness and disabilities has been estimated at 10 Prevalence rate of 20 to 33 of psychiatric disorder in school children has been reported in an Indian setting Among them learning disorders constitute 3 to 7 which includes use of listening speaking reading writing measuring or mathematical abilities In this context the importance of a teacher becomes vital in safeguarding and promoting the mental health of children and early identification of deviations from normal newline