Effect of a Health Belief Model about Climate Change on Collegians

Aims: Climate change is a global challenge that has already had a detrimental impact on the environment and human health, leading to increased magnitude and frequency of extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, and flooding. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of the expanded health belief model related to the perceived benefits of climate change on collegians at the university. Materials Methods: This experimental randomized controlled trial was conducted at the College of Education for Pure Sciences in AL-Nasiriyah City, Iraq, from October 4th, 2022 to January 3rd, 2023. All 144 students entered the study by census method and were randomly divided into two study and control groups. A questionnaire consisting of two parts; demographic data and health benefits of adopting the anti-climate change behavior scale. Data was analyzed in SPSS 21 software by Chi-square and independent T-tests. Findings: The perceived benefit had no significant difference between the control (29.17±8.82) and the study (29.52±8.05) groups in the pre-test (p 0.05). The study group’s perceived benefit in post-test I was increased to 52.31±11.31, which was significantly (p 0.05) higher than the control group (29.49±8.07). Also, the study group’s perceived benefit in post-test II was 51.89±11.60, which was significantly (p 0.05) higher than the control group (30.14±8.98). There was no statistically significant difference between study groups in the pre-test period (t=0.349; p=0.727). There were statistically significant differences between the study groups at the post-test I (t=8.276; p=0.001) and II periods (t=8.895; p=0.001). Conclusion: The administered expanded health belief model increases the perceived benefits of enhancing the climate change counteraction in collegians.