The impact of biology and physical training elective disciplines on the improvement of health literacy of secondary school students living in the Aral Sea region

Abstract

511 secondary school students took part in the study (Control Group (CG) - 251 pupils, Experimental Group (EG) - 277
pupils). After the first questionnaire, EG members attended 15 hours of theoretical and 15 hours of practical training as
supplemental lessons of Biology and Physical Education, on healthy lifestyle (HLS), nutrition, physical health, disease
prevention, health information.
Among all groups, the lowest level of low-HL was observed in the second questionnaire of the EG and was statistically
significant compared with the results of other groups (χ2 = 21.48, p <0.05). The moderate level of HL was uniform across groups. There was a statistically significant change in the second questionnaire with high levels of HL (χ2 = 5.83, p <0.05).
As a result of the project, the respondents gained significant knowledge about the prevention of infectious diseases,
psychological stress. There was a statistical significance of the HLS advocacy campaigns (χ2 = 5,844, p <0.05) between CG
and EG.
We concluded that the respondents have a low level of Health Literacy (HL), and elective disciplines facilitate improving HL.
Since students’ study progress is directly related to the level of HL, policy-makers should consider these factors in school
curriculum development