Neda Ahmadzadeh Tori - Ph.D. in Health Education and Health Promotion, Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
Mohammad Shirmardi - Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
Beyrambibi Bayat - M.Sc. in Health Education, Department of Health Education and Health Promotion. Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Davoud hojaeizadeh - Professor, Department of Health Education and Promotion, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Zahra Aboosaeidi - Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.

Background: Students are a sensitive group in response to the dangers of air pollution. This study was conducted in order to determine the effect of education using the health belief model on the improvement of students' behaviors to prevent exposure to polluted air. Methods: This study was a before-and-after controlled intervention. The participants included ۱۸۴ people in the intervention group (۸۲ boys and ۱۰۲ girls) and ۱۶۹ people in the control group (۸۲ boys and ۸۷ girls). The researcher-made questionnaire was distributed among the students based on the model. Then, four education sessions were held along with the distribution of pamphlets for the intervention group. Three months later, the questionnaire was completed again by the students. The data was analyzed using SPSS software. The intervention tests used included: paired t, independent t, chi square and Pearson correlation. Results: Comparing the scores before and after, it was seen that the level of awareness and attitude had increased significantly (p<۰.۰۰۱). In terms of the constructs of the health belief model, there was a significant difference between the intervention group and the control group after the education. There is a significant difference (p<۰.۰۵), which shows the effect of education, while before the education, the two groups did not have a significant difference in terms of scores. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the implementation of an educational program based on the health belief model with an emphasis on behavior predictors can be effective in reducing exposure to air pollution in students.

Awareness, Attitude, Air pollution, Health belief model