Evaluation of a school-based, experiential-learning smoking prevention program in promoting attitude change in adolescents
Introduction School-based tobacco control programs exhibit great variety. Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an experiential learning smoking prevention program in facilitating knowledge acquisition, forging healthy attitudes, and decreasing intention to smoke. Methods A school-based...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Publishing
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Tobacco Induced Diseases |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.tobaccoinduceddiseases.org/Evaluation-of-a-school-based-experiential-learning-smoking-prevention-program-in,134605,0,2.html |
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| author | Dimitra P. Mpousiou Nikolaos Sakkas Elpidoforos S. Soteriades Michalis Toumbis Stavros Patrinos Anna Karakatsani Areti Karathanassi Vasilios Raftopoulos Christina G. Gratziou Paraskevi A. Katsaounou |
| author_facet | Dimitra P. Mpousiou Nikolaos Sakkas Elpidoforos S. Soteriades Michalis Toumbis Stavros Patrinos Anna Karakatsani Areti Karathanassi Vasilios Raftopoulos Christina G. Gratziou Paraskevi A. Katsaounou |
| author_sort | Dimitra P. Mpousiou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction
School-based tobacco control programs exhibit great
variety. Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an
experiential learning smoking prevention program in facilitating
knowledge acquisition, forging healthy attitudes, and decreasing
intention to smoke.
Methods
A school-based intervention-control study was implemented
during the 2016–2017 academic year among middle-school students
in Athens, Greece. The experiential learning intervention was
delivered using an interdisciplinary approach, bridging excerpts
from ancient classical Greek myths, Aesop fables and ancient
classical literature (Aristotle, Herodotus, Plutarch, Xenophon,
Homer’s Epics), with their decoded archetypal symbols applied
in a smoking and tobacco control paradigm. An anonymous selfadministered
questionnaire was used at baseline and at follow-up
at 3 months to evaluate program effectiveness.
Results
A total of 351 students participated in our study; 181 (51.6%)
in the intervention group and 170 (48.4%) in the control group.
The mean age of student participants was 13 years (SD=0.96).
Students in the intervention group were more likely to improve
their knowledge of the adverse effects of smoking, develop attitudes
against smoking and report a negative intention to smoke in the
first year following the intervention, compared to the control group.
Conclusions
This study provides evidence that school-based
experiential learning smoking prevention programs improve
smoking-related knowledge, enhance anti-smoking attitudes and
reinforce negative intentions toward tobacco products. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T16:59:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-37bfed2d834e4d59958ec8c52829887c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1617-9625 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T16:59:19Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | European Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Tobacco Induced Diseases |
| spelling | doaj.art-37bfed2d834e4d59958ec8c52829887c2022-12-22T02:38:43ZengEuropean PublishingTobacco Induced Diseases1617-96252021-06-0119June11010.18332/tid/134605134605Evaluation of a school-based, experiential-learning smoking prevention program in promoting attitude change in adolescentsDimitra P. Mpousiou0Nikolaos Sakkas1Elpidoforos S. Soteriades2Michalis Toumbis3Stavros Patrinos4Anna Karakatsani5Areti Karathanassi6Vasilios Raftopoulos7Christina G. Gratziou8Paraskevi A. Katsaounou9National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, GreeceDepartment of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London, United KingdomHealthcare Management Program, Faculty of Economics and Management, Open University of Cyprus, Nicosia, CyprusSchool of Medicine, European University Cyprus, Nicosia, CyprusHellenic National Public Health Organization, Athens, Greece2nd Pulmonary Clinic, Atticon University General Hospital, Athens, GreeceEducational Institute, Athens, GreeceHellenic National Public Health Organization, Athens, GreeceSmoking Cessation Centre, Evgenidio Hospital, Athens, GreeceSchool of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, GreeceIntroduction School-based tobacco control programs exhibit great variety. Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an experiential learning smoking prevention program in facilitating knowledge acquisition, forging healthy attitudes, and decreasing intention to smoke. Methods A school-based intervention-control study was implemented during the 2016–2017 academic year among middle-school students in Athens, Greece. The experiential learning intervention was delivered using an interdisciplinary approach, bridging excerpts from ancient classical Greek myths, Aesop fables and ancient classical literature (Aristotle, Herodotus, Plutarch, Xenophon, Homer’s Epics), with their decoded archetypal symbols applied in a smoking and tobacco control paradigm. An anonymous selfadministered questionnaire was used at baseline and at follow-up at 3 months to evaluate program effectiveness. Results A total of 351 students participated in our study; 181 (51.6%) in the intervention group and 170 (48.4%) in the control group. The mean age of student participants was 13 years (SD=0.96). Students in the intervention group were more likely to improve their knowledge of the adverse effects of smoking, develop attitudes against smoking and report a negative intention to smoke in the first year following the intervention, compared to the control group. Conclusions This study provides evidence that school-based experiential learning smoking prevention programs improve smoking-related knowledge, enhance anti-smoking attitudes and reinforce negative intentions toward tobacco products.http://www.tobaccoinduceddiseases.org/Evaluation-of-a-school-based-experiential-learning-smoking-prevention-program-in,134605,0,2.htmlsmokingpreventionadolescentsexperiential learningschool |
| spellingShingle | Dimitra P. Mpousiou Nikolaos Sakkas Elpidoforos S. Soteriades Michalis Toumbis Stavros Patrinos Anna Karakatsani Areti Karathanassi Vasilios Raftopoulos Christina G. Gratziou Paraskevi A. Katsaounou Evaluation of a school-based, experiential-learning smoking prevention program in promoting attitude change in adolescents Tobacco Induced Diseases smoking prevention adolescents experiential learning school |
| title | Evaluation of a school-based, experiential-learning smoking prevention program in promoting attitude change in adolescents |
| title_full | Evaluation of a school-based, experiential-learning smoking prevention program in promoting attitude change in adolescents |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of a school-based, experiential-learning smoking prevention program in promoting attitude change in adolescents |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of a school-based, experiential-learning smoking prevention program in promoting attitude change in adolescents |
| title_short | Evaluation of a school-based, experiential-learning smoking prevention program in promoting attitude change in adolescents |
| title_sort | evaluation of a school based experiential learning smoking prevention program in promoting attitude change in adolescents |
| topic | smoking prevention adolescents experiential learning school |
| url | http://www.tobaccoinduceddiseases.org/Evaluation-of-a-school-based-experiential-learning-smoking-prevention-program-in,134605,0,2.html |
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