Factors affecting participation in sports among secondary school students in Kilosa district – Morogoro region

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sports is important for lifelong health ,however participation have been observed to be lower in rural compared with the urban settings and it declines rapidly during adolescent stage. This quantitative study examined adolescents in secondary schools in Kilosa District in regards to the factors affecting their sports participation. Five schools were selected; Mbumi, Dendego, Kutukutu, Mazinyungu and Kimamba secondary schools. Methods: A cross sectional survey was done involving 525 students. Questionnaire was used to gather information on demographic characteristics, individual factors, peer factors and school environment factors affecting their participation. The data was analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.Descriptive statistics were used to summarize demographic characteristics. Univariate and Multivariate regression analysis was used to analyse factors associated with participation in physical activities. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were computed. Results: The age of the study participants ranged from 12 to 19 years with a mean of 15.5 (SD = 1.49) years. Students aged 12-15 years had lower odds of participating in sports compared to those in age group 16-19 years(OR =0.47,95 CI(0.32-0.68),P<0.001) thus active participation increased significantly with age. The findings also revealed that students with sports partner had a higher chance of being physically active compared to students who had no sports partners. Findings also revealed that majority (61.2%) of the students were not taught physical education subject and even the schools that were teaching this subject were only taught once per week. The results also showed that 4/5 schools under study had no sports facilities hence increasing the likelihood of limited participation in sports activities. Factors that were significantly associated with participation in sports were older age 16-19 by 60.4%, town residency by 74.4%, social acceptance by 81.3% and sports partner by 79.7%. Conclusion and Recommendation: Knowledge on the importance of physical activities is limited and access to sports and physical activity facilities is still unsatisfactory. There is a need to address individual, peer and environment influences to student’s participation in physical activities in order to address public health problems caused by sedentary behaviors. The government and other stakeholders need to come up with effective interventions to address this public health issue in secondary schools