A study to assess the impact of education intervention on the knowledge regarding hazards of plastic food containers in school children

Background: One among the most hazardous manufacture is the plastic. It has become a part of every aspect of human living. When any food material or water is stored in the plastic containers the small, measurable amounts of the materials may migrate into food and can be consumed with it through the process of leaching. Leaching means that some of the chemicals of the plastic enter the food material or water. BPA is a structural component in polycarbonate beverage bottles. Objectives were to assess the knowledge regarding safe use of Plastics and to assess the impact of educational intervention given to them. Methods: Study design-Community based educational intervention study. Study Subjects - 300 school students of standard 7-9 and 11 of two private school of Bhopal. Results: Out of 300 students, 56% used plastics in the form of tiffin and water bottle, 37.33% used in the form of Water Bottles only and 6.66% did not use Plastic in the form of anything. The knowledge of the respondents increased after the educational intervention and the difference was found to be significant (P<0.001) shows that the mean percent of knowledge score of plastics was 53% which increased significantly to 75% after health education intervention, <0.05. Conclusions: Children are amenable to correction, so any health education imparted is most likely to result in change in their behavior and practice.