Knowledge of Primary Prevention and Management of Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension among Secondary School Children in Morogoro Municipality, Morogoro Region, Tanzania

Purpose: Hypertension and diabetes used to occur in adults but are now prevalent in children however, there is no enough information on student’s knowledge on prevention and management of these conditions. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing knowledge on prevention and management of hypertension and diabetes among students in Morogoro Municipality.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Kihonda and SUA secondary schools among 253 randomly selected students. Data were collected using KAP questionnaire adapted from the FAO and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science™ Version 20.

Results: Over 95% of the students have never tested their blood pressure and glucose. Also, 34.4% have never measured body weight before the study. Majority (75.5%) understood that hypertension and diabetes can be prevented through managing diet and physical activity (19.2%) while 18.7% mentioned engaging in physical activities only. Furthermore, 64.4% and 69.2% did not know the management of diabetes and hypertension respectively. About 42% and 32% did not know any good and risk foods for hypertension respectively. Also, 38.3% and 35.2% did not know the appropriate and risk foods for diabetes patients respectively. Knowledge on prevention of diabetes and hypertension was associated with age AOR 1.421(95%CI: 1.015-1.989) p=0.040, education level AOR (1.118, 95%CI: 1.039-3.355) p< 0.01 and studying science subjects AOR 1.65 (95%CI: 1.306-1.692) p=0.028.

Conclusion: Majority of students do not actively monitor their health and have limited knowledge on prevention and management of diabetes and hypertension creating a need for improving knowledge as a window of opportunity for prevention of non-communicable diseases.