Effectiveness of Information, Education, Communication Package on Knowledge Regarding Prevention of Road Traffic Accidents among High School Students in a Selected School at Puducherry

Abstract

Introduction: School students are active youngsters who receive decreasing amounts of supervision from parents and other adults. They are more prone to accidents. 1 The accident is unintended injury, death, or property damage occurring in a sequence of events. Accidents do not just happen; they are caused through thoughtlessness, carelessness, negligence, and a momentary lack of concentration. 2 They have to be taught, trained, and sensitized to traffic rules and accidents. Objectives: (i) To assess the knowledge regarding prevention of road traffic accidents (RTAs) among high school students in a selected school at Puducherry; (ii) to assess the effectiveness of information, education, communication (IEC) package on knowledge regarding prevention of RTAs among high school students in a selected school at Puducherry; and (iii) to find out the association between knowledge scores with selected demographic variables. Methodology: Preexperimental one-group pretest–posttest design was adapted for this study. The simple random sampling technique was used to select the sample of 50 high school students. They were assessed by using IEC package on prevention of RTA. The data were analyzed in terms of both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Major findings: The study finding revealed that out of 50 high school students, 36 (72%) of them had adequate knowledge, 14 (28%) of them had moderate knowledge, and 0 (0%) of them had inadequate knowledge regarding prevention of RTA. The analysis shows that the mode of transport is nearly associated with knowledge level, and the p -value is 0.975 among the high school students. Conclusion: The study results proved that IEC package on knowledge regarding prevention of RTA among high school students was highly effective. They will enable them to improve the awareness regarding the traffic rules, and it helps to reduce the RTA among school students.