Microplastica Pollution Awareness Level of Students

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of environmental health education given at the 9th-grade level on the microplastica pollution awareness level of students.

This pretest-posttest experimental study with a randomized control group was conducted between 2022 and 2023 in three high schools in a province in eastern Turkey. The sample of the study consisted of 90 ninth-grade students (experimental group: 45, control group: 45), and the sample magnitude was determined by power analysis. Tools such as the "Personal Information Form" and "Microplastica Pollution Awareness Scale (MPAS)" were used to collect data. Training was given to the experimental group as a nursing intervention in a total of 4 sessions at 15-day intervals. No intervention was applied to the individuals in the control group. In the data evaluation process, percentage distribution, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, chi-square test, correlation and regression analyses were used.

While no significant difference was observed in the MPAS total score in the control group according to the pre-test and post-test mean scores, a significant difference was observed in the MPAS total score in the experimental group (p≤0.05). When the posttest mean scores of the experimental and control groups were examined, it was observed that the posttest mean scores of the experimental group were higher than the posttest mean scores of the control group and there was a statistically significant difference (p≤0.05).

It was observed that the microplastica pollution awareness level of the experimental group students who received environmental health training increased significantly.

Inclusion criteria

• age group of 13-15 years,
• 9th-grade students,
• without any intellectual disability,
• with parental consent.

Exclusion criteria

• Previous or current participation in an MPAS training,
• Inability to obtain parental consent.