Ortaöğretim Öğrencilerinin Polen Alerjisi Konusundaki Bilgi Düzeylerinin Belirlenmesi: Ankara İli Örneği

Abstract

In this study, it was aimed to determine the pollen allergy knowledge levels of secondary school students in Ankara. For this purpose, as a quantitative data collection tool, a “questionnaire of pollen allergy knowledge”, as a qualitative data collection tool, “semi-structured interview form” was prepared. The questionnaire of pollen allergy knowledge was applied to 400 students who are attending the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades of Anatolian High Schools in the central districts of Ankara, and a semi-structured interview form was applied to 20 students in total. In the analysis of quantitative data, descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed by using IBM Statistics 23.0 program. In the analysis of qualitative data, the student answers were judged by the researcher. It seems that the students generally have sufficient knowledge about pollen. However, it is also determined that they have a wrong knowledge that they can see a pollen grain with the naked eye. It was found out that there was no statistically significant difference between the classes in their knowledge about pollen. In relation to the students’ pollen allergy, there is lack of knowledge in the plants causing pollen allergy, some symptoms of hay fever (bruising under the eye and scratch at the back of the nose), in which seasons pollen is in the atmosphere, the effect of the genetic factors upon pollen allergy, diagnosis and treatment of pollen allergy, cross-reactivity of pollen allergy, and the facts that the global warming is a factor increasing pollen allergy and Ankara atmosphere has its own pollen calendar; at the same time, it is determined that the students had difficulty in distinguishing the pollen and seeds of dandelion and poplar plants, and most of the information about these plants are learned from friends, schools, the Internet and their families. Moreover, in this study, it is also found out that students have opinions about the announcement of daily and hourly pollen varieties and concentrations to the public through the media.