| Author: | Chan, Yuk-lin |
| Title: | Paediatric constipation : normal bowel habit, prevalence and contributory factors of functional constipation in Hong Kong primary-school children |
| Degree: | M.Sc. |
| Year: | 2006 |
| Subject: | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations Constipation in children -- China -- Hong Kong |
| Department: | School of Nursing |
| Pages: | 107 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Functional constipation is a common pediatric problem in school age children with terrible consequences for children, parents and society, in Hong Kong, there is no relevant and related research to look at this issue. The aims of this study are to explore the frequency of bowel opening and the prevalence and the dietary and environmental contributory factors of functional constipation amongst Hong Kong primary school students. The survey was conducted during the health care session. A simple questionnaire was formulated and delivered to the primary 3-5 students. The questionnaires were completed by these students. 7.3% of the students were functional constipated. 43.2% students passed stools 1-3 times per week and 42.7% students passed 4-6 times per week respectively. The proportion of functionally constipated students in the group of students-aged 9 was significantly higher than that in the other age groups (p=0.041). The total daily fluid intake of the students with FC was significantly lower than that of student without FC (p=0.037). A significantly larger proportion of students with FC disliked eating fruit and vegetables (p=0.001). The frequency of use of the school toilets for defecation amongst the students with FC was significantly lower than that amongst the students without FC (p=0.050). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the sexes, the daily frequency of eating fruit and vegetables, willingness to use the school toilets for defecation and the reasons why 341 students did not use the school toilets for defecation in our study. Our findings showed that age, total daily fluid intake, and preference for eating fruit and vegetable were significant risk factors for FC amongst these students. Also the risk for functional constipation amongst students, the preference for eating fruit and vegetables is more significant than total daily fluid intake and age. To reduce the morbidity of functional constipation in primary school students, besides increasing the knowledge and awareness amongst primary school students, parents, school teachers and healthcare professionals and eliminating the contributory factors of paediatric functional constipation in the students, the government could implement a school nursing scheme in each primary school and develop paediatric bowel management clinics to cater for children who suffer from functional constipation and their parents. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b18939491.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 3.73 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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