Behavioral research of environment and air pollution through education (BREATHE) study data

Despite the wealth of scientific literature on the health effects of air
pollution, the public’s personal choices in their daily lives continues to
be largely detrimental towards the environment, and public support for the
generation of policies to regulate sources of pollution has remained
modest. The objective of this study was to determine whether a
short interactive teaching session on air pollution can shift the
behavioral choices of adolescents towards environmentally friendlier
options.  To examine the long-term effects of a short interactive
teaching session about air pollution on the understanding and behavioral
choices of adolescents, we performed a pilot randomized control trial
(ClinicalTrials.gov ID#NCT02471872) in which the 8th grade students from
KIPP school (Knowledge Is Power Program, a national network of free open
enrollment college preparatory public schools dedicated towards students
in underserved communities) in San Jose, CA, were randomized to receive a
1-hour systematic script-based teaching on either lung health effects of
air pollution (intervention group) or role of vaccination in public health
(control group). Written parental informed consent as well as written
child assent was obtained from all participating students. The enrolled
students then completed a survey designed by our group to evaluate their
understanding and predict their future behavior towards air pollution
immediately before and 1 month after the teaching session. The
questionnaire consisted of 15 multiple-choice questions with 5 questions
targeting understanding (score range from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of
20 total possible points) and 10 questions targeting behavioral choices
(score range from a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 38 total possible
points). Overall, 71 students from 3 different classes
(age=13.5±0.6 years; 65% female; median annual family income=$25K-$50K)
were enrolled in the study, out of whom 36 were randomized to the
intervention group.

尽管已有大量关于空气污染健康影响的科学研究文献，但公众在日常生活中的个人选择仍在很大程度上对环境造成损害，且公众对制定污染管控政策的支持度始终偏低。本研究旨在探讨针对空气污染的短期互动教学课程，能否促使青少年的行为选择转向更环保的方向。为探究空气污染短期互动教学课程对青少年认知水平与行为选择的长期影响，我们开展了一项试点随机对照试验（ClinicalTrials.gov ID#NCT02471872）：试验对象为美国加利福尼亚州圣何塞市KIPP学校（Knowledge Is Power Program，即“知识就是力量项目”，是面向弱势社区学生的全国性免费公开招生大学预备公立学校网络）的八年级学生，将其随机分配至两组——干预组接受1小时基于标准化脚本的空气污染肺部健康影响系统性教学，对照组则接受1小时基于标准化脚本的公共卫生疫苗接种作用教学。所有参与学生均已获取家长书面知情同意及儿童书面知情同意书。入组学生分别在教学课程开始前即刻及课程结束1个月后，完成了本团队设计的调查问卷，以评估其对空气污染的认知水平并预测其未来相关行为倾向。该问卷共包含15道单项选择题，其中5道题为认知类题目（总分取值范围为5至20分），10道题为行为选择类题目（总分取值范围为10至38分）。本研究最终共纳入来自3个班级的71名学生（年龄为13.5±0.6岁；女性占比65%；家庭年收入中位数为25000美元至50000美元），其中36名被随机分配至干预组。