2020 Volume 15 Issue 3 Pages 56-61
Background: Our hospital has been running smoking prevention classes aimed at elementary school students since 2012. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that smoking prevention classes are raising and maintaining awareness of smoking prevention.
Methods: To measure awareness of smoking prevention, the Kano Test for Social Nicotine Dependence-youth (KTSND-youth) was used. The intervention consisted of a 45-minute smoking prevention class aimed at fifth- and sixth-grade students in elementary school. The short-term effects (3 months) and long-term effects (one to two years after when participants are in seventh and eighth-grade) were assessed. Students who participated in the class were allocated to the intervention group and those who did not to the control group.
Results: Among 514 elementary school students in the intervention group, mean KTSND-youth score before participating in the class was 6.11 ± 4.24, whereas a significant reduction to 5.59 ± 4.54 was observed 3 months after (p<0.001). The score of the control group (119 students) at baseline was 5.96 ± 4.27 and no significant change was observed 3 months later (5.92 ± 4.34, p=0.93). There was no significant difference in change of scores between two groups (p=0.26). The score of the seventh-grade intervention group (4.42 ± 4.53) was significantly lower compared with the control group (5.39 ± 4.61 points, p=0.019). No significant difference was observed (p=0.89) between the scores of the eighth-grade intervention group (7.25 ± 5.94) and the control group (6.96 ± 4.97).
Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that smoking prevention classes in elementary schools improved awareness of smoking prevention after 3 months and one year.
