Development and Effectiveness of the School‐Based Education Program for Coping With Particulate Matter

Abstract

ABSTRACTBACKGROUNDAdolescents are considered to be vulnerable to particulate matter (PM). This study aims to develop and verify the effectiveness of the “school‐based education program for coping with particulate matter (SEPC_PM).” This program was designed by employing the health belief model.METHODSHigh school students between the ages of 15 and 18 in South Korea participated in the program. This study employed a nonequivalent control group pretest‐posttest design. A total of 113 students participated in the study; of these, 56 students participated in the intervention group, and 57 in the control group. The intervention group received 8 intervention sessions the SEPC_PM over the course of 4 weeks.RESULTSAfter the completion of the program, the intervention group's knowledge about PM showed a statistically significant increase (t = 4.79, p < .001). The practice of engaging in health‐managing behaviors to protect against PM also showed statistically significant improvement in the intervention group, with the greatest progress in practicing precaution when outdoors (t = 2.22, p = .029). No statistically significant changes were observed regarding other dependent variables. However, a subdomain of the variable of perceived self‐efficacy for engaging in health‐managing behaviors to protect against PM (degree of body cleansing after returning home) demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the intervention group (t = 1.99, p = .049).CONCLUSIONSThe SEPC_PM may be proposed for incorporation into regular high school curricula to improve students' health by encouraging them to take necessary actions against PM.