Efficacy and impact of back care education on knowledge and behaviour of elementary schoolchildren.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the usefulness of a back care education programme on the promotion of knowledge and behaviour of fifth-grade elementary schoolchildren in terms of reducing risk factors for low back pain later in life. METHODS Multi-stage random sampling was used to classify the pupils in one of the intervention or control groups. A validated questionnaire was filled out by each subject before the educational programme, and a week and three months afterwards. RESULTS Improvement in knowledge and behaviour of pupils was observed a week and three months after the intervention (P<0.001) with no significant difference between the boys and the girls. However, a decreasing trend was observed in knowledge and behaviour pattern form a week to three months after the intervention. CONCLUSION Considering back care education in the school curriculum is recommended for long-term sustainability of an educational programme.