Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on Health Behaviors Regarding Air Pollution from Burning Waste: A Cross-sectional Study Among Villagers in the North of Iran in 2020

Incineration is a waste disposal technique employed to reduce the volume of waste, resulting in air pollution.

This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice on health behaviors among Rasht villagers regarding air pollution from burning waste.

The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 260 rural households in Rasht. Data were collected using a questionnaire by interviewing participants. The participants were randomly selected and entered the study. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 16 using the t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation at a 95% confidence interval. the content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) were used to assess the instrument’s validity. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated to evaluate the questionnaire reliability.

The findings confirmed the optimal validity and reliability of the instrument used in the study. The participants’ age range was 19 to 78, with a mean age of 43.87 ± 12.66 years. The practice had a significant positive correlation with knowledge (r = 0.216). The correlation between practice and attitude was positive but not statistically significant. Education and information on burning wastes had a substantial relationship with knowledge. Participants received 80%, 29.3%, and 66.7% of the maximum achievable scores for knowledge, attitude, and practice components in the questionnaire, respectively.

The villagers’ attitude in performing health behaviors regarding air pollution was not favorable, and there is a need to provide educational and behavioral interventions in this regard.