Assessment of the Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Plastic Use and its Health Effects among Nursing Students of Selected Nursing Colleges of Ambala, Haryana

Background: India has witnessed a substantial growth in the consumption of plastics and an increasedproduction of plastic waste. Polyolefin account for the major share of 60% in the total plastics consumptionin India. Plastic causes major health problems.Aims and Objectives:1. To assess the knowledge regarding plastic use and its health effects among nursing students.2. To assess the attitude regarding plastic use and its health effects among nursing students.3. To determine the relationship between knowledge and attitude regarding plastic use and its health effectsamong nursing students.4. To find out the association of knowledge and attitude regarding plastic use and its health effects amongnursing students with selected variables.Material and Method: The research approach adopted for the study was quantitative research approach anddesign was descriptive research design. The study was conducted at selected colleges of Ambala, Haryana.A total of 300 students were selected by using convenience sampling technique. The tool used for the datacollection consisted of selected variables, structured knowledge questionnaire and structured attitude scaleto measure knowledge of students.Results: Study results revealed that mean score of knowledge was i.e. 59% than mean score of attitude wasi.e. 80.3%in the study. A mild positive correlation (r=0.07) was found between knowledge and attitude.There was a significant association of knowledge with gender (p=0.03), academic qualification (p=0.01) andtypes of school (p= (0.03). There was a significant association of attitude with religion (p=0.00), year (0.00),residence (0.00) and previous knowledge (0.01).Conclusion: Study concluded that the students have average knowledge and moderately favorable attituderegarding plastic use and its health effects.