The Effect of Educational Intervention Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior on Promotion of Traffic Safe Behaviors in Students Running Title: Promotion of Traffic Safe Behaviors in Students

Abstract

Objective: Traffic injuries are the cause of many deaths and disabilities in children, affecting them in different ways: they may be pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, and car occupants. Also, children are the victims of 21% of road deaths. This study aimed to determine the effect of educational intervention based on the theory of planned behavior on promotion of traffic safe behaviors in students. Method: It is a quasi-experimental study performed on 400 first and second grade primary school students of Fasa city, Fars province, Iran in 2018-2019. The data collection tools included demographic information, constructs of the theory of planned behaviour and traffic behaviours. The educational intervention for experimental group include eight education sessions of 45-50 minutes in small group discussions, question & answer, practical demonstration, videos, Power Points, and booklets. Results: The mean age of the experimental and control groups was 7.96 ± 0.74 and 7.90 ± 0.81 years. The results showed no significant difference between the two groups in terms of knowledge, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention, and traffic safe behavior before the intervention. Conclusion: The results of this study showed the effectiveness of educational intervention based on TPB of traffic safe behaviors in students. A successful educational program should be accompanied by sufficient exercises to make appropriate decisions when crossing. Since traffic issues are not included in the Iran’s education system, education needs to be systematically and practically operationalized. Developing educational packages with the topics on traffic education is suggested to be incorporated into the textbooks.