GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING PROGRAMMES AND HEALTH AWARENESS AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between guidance and counselling programmes and health awareness among senior secondary school students in public secondary schools in Rivers State. Specifically, the study investigated the relationship between guidance and counselling programmes and students’ environmental hygiene awareness, substance abuse awareness and reproductive health awareness. A correlational research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised 191,155 senior secondary school students in 286 public secondary schools in Rivers State. A sample of 400 students was selected using the Cochran sample size determination procedure and multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using the Guidance and Counselling Programmes and Health Awareness Questionnaire (GCPHAQ), while 386 properly completed questionnaires were used for analysis. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed significant positive relationships between guidance and counselling programmes and environmental hygiene awareness (r = .62, p < .05), substance abuse awareness (r = .69, p < .05), and reproductive health awareness (r = .58, p < .05). The study concluded that guidance and counselling programmes are significantly associated with students’ awareness of environmental hygiene, substance abuse and reproductive health. It was recommended, among other measures, that schools should strengthen the integration of health-related issues into regular guidance and counselling activities to enhance students’ health awareness and responsible decision-making.