THE EFFECTS OF GERONTOLOGY INTERVENTION PROGRAMME ON KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ANAMBRA STATE NIGERIA : doi>10.24250/JPE/1/2020/NON/NSN/JOO/ULI

Abstract Introduction The way people especially the young ones understand ageing is often heavily influenced by films and television programmes where it is often scarier than the reality. To try and address this issue and get the young ones ready, this study was concluded to determine the effect of gerontology intervention programme on knowledge and attitude of secondary school students in Anambra State. Method The study was delimited to Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State. Quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test control group design was used on 282 junior and senior secondary school students selected from four secondary schools which included two private schools and two public schools and they were divided into control and experimental groups. Research tool was a researcher-developed instrument which was divided into three parts. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Mean was used to answer the research questions; analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to answer the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Result The results of the study showed that there was an increase in the mean knowledge and attitude scores of secondary school students after the gerontology intervention programme. Conclusion Based on the findings, conclusions were drawn and recommendations among others were made: there is a great need to expose students to the issue of ageing and health education on ageing process should also be taught in schools early enough. (KEYWORDS: EFFECTS, GERONTOLOGY, KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE)