Pre and postintervention health knowledge, as a function of country
| Group and stage of intervention (correct responses given, %) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mauritius (n=389) | Zimbabwe (n=395) | ||||||
| Session number and health statement | Pre | Post | Change | Pre | Post | Change | |
| 1 | Playing football will help to keep me healthy | 97.9 | 98.5 | 0.6 | 79.4 | 95.2 | 15.8**** |
| Regular exercise helps to prevent being overweight | 88.4 | 96.6 | 8.2**** | 77.2 | 91.4 | 14.2**** | |
| Minimum amount of exercise required daily to stay healthy | 74.2 | 93.8 | 19.6**** | 52.0 | 84.8 | 32.8**** | |
| 2 | Important for boys to listen to girls | 58.0 | 83.0 | 25.0**** | 37.6 | 67.8 | 30.2**** |
| Boys should help to protect girls from harm | 89.9 | 96.4 | 6.5**** | 78.5 | 88.2 | 9.7**** | |
| Football is just for boys | 92.3 | 98.7 | 6.4**** | 77.4 | 94.1 | 16.7**** | |
| 3 | You can get HIV by touching someone | 80.2 | 94.6 | 14.4**** | 67.0 | 84.1 | 17.1**** |
| Not having sex is an effective way to avoid getting HIV/AIDS | 68.4 | 86.6 | 18.2**** | 68.4 | 83.5 | 15.1**** | |
| You can tell whether people have HIV by the way they look | 65.8 | 87.6 | 21.8**** | 42.6 | 52.7 | 10.1*** | |
| 4 | It is possible to become addicted by starting to smoke marijuana | 68.1 | 91.8 | 23.7**** | 59.7 | 74.9 | 15.2**** |
| Drinking alcohol can make you feel sad/lonely | 55.7 | 82.2 | 26.5**** | 36.6 | 57.9 | 21.3**** | |
| It is my choice whether or not I take drugs | 64.0 | 77.2 | 13.2**** | 39.7 | 49.5 | 9.8** | |
| 5 | Mosquitoes spread malaria | 77.5 | 95.4 | 17.9**** | 94.9 | 96.9 | 2.0 |
| Using a bed net at night helps to prevent getting malaria | 83.5 | 94.6 | 11.1**** | 81.1 | 96.2 | 15.1**** | |
| People with malaria can die if they do not get treatment | 87.3 | 95.3 | 8.0**** | 71.9 | 83.1 | 11.2**** | |
| 6 | After washing, it is OK to dry my hands on my shirt | 90.7 | 97.9 | 7.2**** | 81.5 | 91.3 | 9.8**** |
| Less likely to become ill if hands are washed before eating | 91.0 | 90.7 | −0.3 | 81.0 | 85.8 | 4.8 | |
| How long should I wash my hands to remove germs | 33.7 | 83.5 | 49.8**** | 21.2 | 75.7 | 54.5**** | |
| 7 | Drinking dirty water causes diarrhoea | 91.0 | 96.9 | 5.9**** | 90.5 | 93.3 | 2.8 |
| It is OK to drink water taken straight from a river | 93.0 | 96.1 | 3.1 | 81.9 | 91.9 | 10.0**** | |
| How long should water be boiled before it is safe to drink | 31.8 | 84.8 | 53.0**** | 28.1 | 64.6 | 36.5**** | |
| 8 | A balanced diet contains food of many colours | 38.0 | 67.7 | 29.7**** | 37.3 | 81.7 | 44.4**** |
| Obesity can lead to diabetes | 76.9 | 88.7 | 11.8**** | 32.3 | 70.0 | 37.7**** | |
| You can become obese if you eat too many chips | 91.5 | 97.4 | 5.9**** | 12.0 | 34.2 | 22.2**** | |
| 9 | Vaccinations are dangerous | 88.2 | 96.9 | 8.7**** | 62.1 | 61.6 | −0.5 |
| My parents/guardians have to pay for my vaccinations | 37.7 | 70.2 | 32.5**** | 10.3 | 38.5 | 28.2**** | |
| A vaccination is a type of health food | 34.9 | 28.6 | −6.3 | 44.9 | 63.2 | 18.3**** | |
| 10 | I can stop taking my medication as soon as I begin to feel better | 58.4 | 94.1 | 35.7**** | 54.8 | 79.5 | 24.7**** |
| There is no cure for tuberculosis | 15.8 | 58.4 | 42.6**** | 54.5 | 66.3 | 11.8**** | |
| The right medication can help people with HIV to live longer | 55.9 | 89.4 | 33.5**** | 77.4 | 89.1 | 11.7**** | |
| Average | 69.3 | 87.1 | 17.8**** | 57.8 | 76.2 | 18.4**** | |