The Effect of Sustainable Environmental Health Program Planned for High School Students on Environmental Sensitivity, Sustainable Environmental Awareness, Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Environmental health has direct and indirect impacts on ecosystem balance and human health. Among the consequences of adverse environmental conditions, non-communicable diseases, including ischaemic heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases and cancers, are the most common. Situations such as environmental pollution, climate change, deforestation and loss of biodiversity that negatively affect environmental health are important public health problems. Protection and improvement of environmental health is very important in terms of sustainable development goals.

Many institutions and organisations carry out studies within the scope of sustainable development goals. The basis of the studies carried out in this context is to improve environmental behaviours. The studies carried out in the field of health include public health studies to protect and improve environmental health. In addition, environmental sensitivity, sustainable environmental awareness and environmental attitude are very important in the development and sustainability of environmental behaviours. The development of environmental sensitivity, awareness, attitudes and behaviours in adolescence is important for individual, social and environmental health now and in the future.

Intervention activities carried out to develop environmental awareness, consciousness, attitude and behaviours are interactive interventions such as message content, interaction with nature, education through presentation, cinevision, peer education and puzzle activities.

It is seen that there are cognitive, affective and behavioural changes within the scope of intervention activities. However, when the selected intervention is based on a single teaching method, its effectiveness differs due to the difference in individual perception levels. Combining different intervention activities can eliminate the differences in individual perception levels. The programme prepared by considering different intervention techniques in adolescence is important to develop environmental sensitivity, sustainable environmental awareness and environmental attitude and to ensure the formation of environmental behaviours. For this reason, this study examines the effect of the sustainable environmental health programme on the development of environmental sensitivity, sustainable environmental awareness, environmental attitudes and behaviours in high school students.