Assessing Predictors of Self-Care Behavior and Practices to Mitigate Air Pollution: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Undergraduate Students in Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Air pollution constitutes a pressing worldwide public health issue, and Pakistan is the fourth most polluted country, where nearly 99% of its populace breathes in the air quality that exceeds the WHO criteria. Embracing WHO-endorsed strategies can help in extending life expectancy by five years. This investigation was designed to delve into the factors influencing self-care behaviors and practices regarding air pollution based on Health Belief Model among undergraduate students. Methods: A questionnaire based on the Health Belief Model was used to conduct a cross sectional study on undergraduate students from Rawalpindi, Pakistan about their self-care and protection practices against air pollution. The questionnaire had seven sections and was validated. Non-probability convenience sampling was used. SPSS 26, Spearman’s correlation, and linear regression were used for data analysis. Results: The study enrolled 292 university students, with 189 (64.7%) being male and 103 (35.3%) females, and a mean age of 21.07±1.896. Findings revealed that 22.6% of respondents exhibited satisfactory self-care behavior, while 77.4% exhibited suboptimal behavior. In terms of self-care preventive practices, 58.6% scored poorly, with only 41.4% demonstrating good practices. Conclusions: The study's outcomes demonstrated poor self-care and protection practices among the participants. Factors such as perceived severity, perceived benefits, self-efficacy, and cues to action significantly influenced preventive behaviors. Whereas, perceived susceptibility and barriers were found insignificant. These findings underscore a notable association between Health Belief Model constructs and students' adoption of preventive measures against air pollution.