Assessing Awareness, Ever Use of E-cigarettes and Effect of a Health Education Intervention among Adolescent School Students of Hyderabad.

Abstract

The use of e cigarettes among high school adolescent students has steadily increased in the last decade globally including India. The present study aimed to assess awareness, ever use of cigarettes in adolescent school students. It also assessed the effect of a health education intervention on their knowledge and attitude towards vaping. The present study was pre post quasi experimental study conducted in randomly selected four schools in Greater Hyderabad. The study group was middle and high school students from 11 to 16 years of age. The study commenced with each group of 30 students by baseline data collection, an icebreaker session, followed by video based health education session. It concluded with group discussion, an interactive feedback session, pledge writing, and post intervention data collection. The study was conducted with 216 participants. Mean age of participants was 14.26 (±1.11) years, and median was 14 years. Females comprised 129 (59.7%) of participants. Awareness of e cigarettes/vaping among participants was 85.18% and 15.74% of them responded affirmatively to ever use of e cigarettes. Knowledge regarding contents and hazards of use of e cigarette was adequate in 8.33% participants at baseline which significantly improved post intervention where 99.07% participants had adequate knowledge. Attitudes regarding "cool quotient" of vaping, safety of e cigarettes, etc., also improved significantly post intervention. School based group health education intervention among middle adolescents was effective in improving awareness, knowledge, and attitude toward vaping among middle adolescents.