RESUMO
AIM: To study the hygiene habits of schoolchildren in Santa Maria de Gracia (an urban site) and La Nora (a rural site), both in Murcia. This stemmed from an initiative of the Health Councils of these places, with the aim of later developing an effective project of Health Education. The Community was conceived as the main player in the Health-Illness process: passive behaviour models were thus abandoned. DESIGN: This was a transversal study of the hygiene customs of school-children from Second and Seventh Grade E.G.B. (General Basic Education: from 8 to 13) in the rural area; from Second and Fifth Grade EGB, from Second Grade BUP (Baccalaureate: from 14 to 16) and from the Second Course of Second Grade FP (Professional Formation) in the urban area. Questionnaires covered the whole of the above population. Crosses according to age, sex and the rural or urban environment were made. PARTICIPANTS: Professionals from both the Primary Care Teams, from Educational Centres, from the Department of Socio-Health Sciences of the Faculty of Medicine and schoolchildren interviewed. INTERVENTIONS: Using a participatory methodology, a questionnaire was designed and answered by a total of 1,182 students, belonging to 13 Educational Centres. MAIN FINDINGS: There are shortcomings open to improvement in practically all areas of hygiene habits; with important differences, in particular customs, between boys and girls, between town and country and between younger and older students.