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International Journal of Public Health and Clinical Sciences (IJPHCS)
Open Access e-journal ISSN : 2289-7577
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PERCEPTION TOWARD SMOKING CESSATION MATERIALS AMONG STUDENT SMOKERS IN FACULTY OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES UPM

Sankar CD, Sumyah RM, Irene UC, Abubakar NG, Ruth CS, Suriani I

Abstract


Background: Tobacco smoking is still one of the major global health problems. Various policies have been implemented in the form of health promotion actions to mitigate smoking. Nevertheless, reviews on the effectiveness of health education materials for smoking cessation is lacking. The general objective of this study was to evaluate the understandability and actionability scores of two selected health promotion materials toward smoking cessation among student smokers in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study among 40 smokers in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences in a public university. The health education materials assessed were a video titled ‘Five Reasons to Quit Smoking’ and a pamphlet developed based on its content. The questionnaires used were Patients Education Material Assessment Tool (PEMAT) for print and audio-visual material to evaluate the understandability and actionability.

Result: There were 37 males (92.5%) and only 4 females (7.5%) s in this study. The smokers’ age ranged from 20 to 41 years and the highest percentage was among those aged 20 to 26 years (60.0%). The highest percentage were from the Malay ethnic group (55.0%) while (65.0%) were single. A total of (52.5%) were undergraduates, (60.0%) were not employed and (60.0%) of student smokers earned RM <1100 per month. The PEMAT print scores and audio-visual scores showed no significant differences in understandability (79.17±13.33 vs 78.05±13.77, p>0.881) and actionability (62.67±18.84 vs 69.25±22.17, p>0.371).

Conclusion: There was lower score for actionability. However there is no significant difference in both understandability and actionability between the printed and audio visual health promotion materials in this study among student smokers at UPM.

Keywords: Patients Education Material Assessment Tool (PEMAT), smoker, students, smoking cessation

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