School Teachers as Facilitators in Imparting Knowledge on Road Safety Measures to School Children

Among children road traffic accidents is a major public health issue in many countries. The health habits developed during school age will pass on the succeeding phases of life. School teachers are excellent resources to impart knowledge on road safety measures to children.

This cross sectional study was carried out to assess the scope and extent to which school teachers are participating in providing knowledge on road safety measures to school children and to determine the potential barriers that hinder their participation in providing knowledge on road safety measures to school children. A pilot tested structured close ended self-administered questionnaire was distributed among teachers who were willing to take part in the study by signing an informed consent form.

Among 127 female participants, 90 (70.9%) teachers were willing to take part in health related activities and among 73 male teachers it was found to be 62 (84.9%). Among the participants, 76% of the teachers were willing to impart knowledge on road safety measures to school children. The association (p<0.05) between willingness to impart knowledge on road safety measures and years of teaching experience was statistically significant. Potential barriers in providing knowledge on road safety measures were lack of time and busy teaching schedule.

Teachers can play a pivotal role in providing road safety measures to school children because of their proximity to school children. There is a need to explore the possibilities of including road safety measures to be followed by school children through school curricula.