Knowledge of nursing students regarding housing characteristics and its evaluation

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this research study is to assess the knowledge of housing characteristics and associated health problems in nursing students of Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS). Moreover, nursing students’ knowledge about housing condition and public health risks were also analyzed. Methodology: The study was conducted at Institute of Nursing, DUHS, Karachi. In 2012, 90 nursing students were asked to participate in this study with their consents. A teaching session was conducted as a part of this study that lasted for two hours. At the end of teaching session students were requested to fill out the questionnaire about their housing condition and health related problems along with a feedback of the session. Results: The study highlighted that on average, participants had been living in the same housing for the last one year, with median and inter-quartile range of 12 and 16 months respectively. Twelve participants (13%) mentioned that they had suffered from diarrhea or vomiting during last three months, and 7.6% participants reported that their housing conditions were affecting their respiratory health. A large number of participants (89.1%) and (87.2%) did not find any visible mold in their house/hostel or kitchen respectively. Almost 61% and 80% participants reported about the mechanical ventilation and window in the bathroom respectively. Conclusion: Reduction in dampness results in improvement of various health symptoms. House dust mite can be controlled through constant mechanical ventilation. The majority of the participants showed willingness towards such seminars and discussions for their future classes.