Infectious Diseases as Correlate of Public Health and Academic Performance Among Students of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai Niger State

Abstract

The study examines infectious diseases as correlates of public health and academic performance among students of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai Niger State. This study was conducted using correlation research design (linear method). The population of the study comprised the entire students of the 6 faculties in Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai Niger State. A sample of 461 students was drawn through random sampling technique. The study adopted researcher self-developed questionnaire titled “Infectious Diseases and Public Health Questionnaire (IDAPHQ) for data collection, and their scores in GST couses was used to assess their academic performance. Draft copies of the measuring instruments were presented to 3 experts from department of counselling psychology and school of health and technology, minna for validation. Cronbach Alpha statistical tool was employed to determine the reliability of the measuring instrument with psychometric index of 0.83. To answer the research questions, Point Biserial Correlation Coefficient was used and the hypotheses were tested using students’ t-test of significance correlation at p < 0.05 level of significance. It was found that there is a very high positive relationship between infectious diseases, and public health. There is also a very high positive relationship between infectious diseases and students’ academic performance. Therefore, it was recommended students should ensure that they observe high personal hygiene and sanitation of their environment to efficiently improve their mental health and academic performance.