Abstract
Abstract
Background: Positive attitudes or beliefs on seat belt could improve the probability of seat belt use among drivers and occupants. The aim of present study was to determine impact of educational intervention according to theory of planned behavior (TPB) on seat belt- use behavior of rural adolescent students. Methods: This study was conducted among 122 students in the control group and 108 in the intervention group of junior high school students of rural areas of Hashtrood city in 2024. The educational intervention including lecture, booklet, pamphlet, poster, educational video clip for students, holding a competition on making wall newspapers, cartoons, and awarding prizes to the best people, and a pamphlet for parents were applied for the experimental group”. The data collection tool was TPB-based questionnaire. Results: Results showed that mean score of all constructs of TPB including attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention, and behavior after three months from educational intervention significantly increased in the intervention group compared to before the intervention (p<0.01). Based on ANCOVA analysis, after adjusting the difference in before intervention scores of subjective norms, attitude, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention, and behavior between intervention and control groups, there was a significant difference in after intervention scores between the two groups (p<0.01), and mean score of all constructs in the intervention group was significantly more than that of the control group. Conclusion: The findings suggest that educational intervention programs can effectively enhance seat belt use intentions and behaviors among rural adolescent students. Such interventions should be implemented more widely to promote seat belt use in this population.