Investigating the Effect of Educational Intervention on Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Housewives in Dastja Village, Iran, in the Field of Waste Recycling

Abstract

Background: Increasing awareness and creating culture in the field of waste management can be a solution to this important environmental issue. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of educational intervention on knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of housewives in Dastja Village of Isfahan Province, Iran, in the field of recycling in 2021. Methods: In this descriptive-interventional study, which was conducted in a cross-sectional way, 60 housewives were selected by systematic random method and completed the KAP questionnaire towards recycling. Then, education related to recycling was presented to the target group, including 3 face-to-face sessions of 40 minutes and one hour of virtual education. The questionnaire was completed again after two months. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), independent t-test, and Pearson's correlation test were used to analyze the data. Findings: The average age of the investigated women in the target and control groups was 34.9 ± 9.6 and 36.4 ± 9.2, respectively. After the educational intervention, the level of awareness change in poor, medium, and good groups was -34.69%, +7.72%, and +26.97%, respectively. Besides, the rate of change of attitude scores in poor, medium, and good groups was -11.29%, -12.33%, and +23.62%, respectively. In the practice section, change values in the poor, medium, and good groups were -19.98%, -9.99%, and +30.06%, respectively. Conclusion: Considering the significant improvements in KAP of housewives in Dastja Village after training, by including the education while cooperating and coordinating with the village council and officials in order to develop recycling in rural areas, important steps can be taken and good results can be achieved.

Keywords

• recycling
• education
• knowledge
• attitude
• practice
• solid waste