Surveillance of selected non-communicable disease (NCD) indicators among adolescents in Balanga City [manuscript] : basis for health promotion and education / Olar, Ana Margarita A.

The study aimed to determine surveillance of selected non-communicable disease (NCD) indicators of adolescents in Balanga City as a basis for health promotion and education for the year 2017.

The study aimed to determine surveillance of selected non-communicable disease (NCD) indicators of adolescents in Balanga City as a basis for health promotion and education for the year 2017. Specifically, the profile of the adolescents comprised of the age, sex, grade level, socio-economic status, and family history on NCD risk. The extent of surveillance on non-communicable disease indicators among adolescents in Balanga City were defined in terms of tobacco use, alcohol use, physical activity, diet and nutrition. The difference in the extent of surveillance on non-communicable disease indicators among adolescents in Balanga City and the respondents profile were measured. The data gathered through the survey questionnaire was encoded in MS Excel 2013 and statistically processed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 with the help of a statistician. The program was used to facilitate the processing and interpretation of data. SPSS readily provides the significance or probability levels for the statistical tests. The data gathered were analyzed with the use of the following statistical tools: frequency count and percentage were employed to describe the profile of the adolescents in terms of age, sex, grade level, socio-economic status, and family history on NCD risk. The same statistical tools were used to describe the smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, and diet and nutrition of the respondents. Chi square was employed to measure the significant difference between the respondents profile and the selected NCD risk indicators. Majority of the respondents are 13 years of age. Hypertension in the family is the most common among the non-communicable diseases. The study revealed that about 8.8% of the youth smokes. About 93% of the students said that they engage in physical activities which includes walking, biking, and house chores. Twenty-three percent of the young people said that they eat at least three servings of fruits every day. Almost the same percentage was found for vegetable consumptions of young people. Health promotion and education for young people should start early and good healthy habits may be encouraged. A fresh approach in dealing with generation who loves technology should be adopted. This includes the use of social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and among others. Peer to peer programs must be strengthen in every school. Promoting healthy lifestyle among adolescent should be fun and interactive. This can include Fun Run, biking, dancing and other fun activities. Periodic measurement is also important to measure the effectiveness of the program. Partnership with stakeholders like the Department of Education, Nutrition Council, and Philippines National Police, Department of Social Welfare and Development and others must also be reinforced.