Evaluation of a brief school-based e-cigarette prevention program for elementary school students

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatric Health
• Health Education

Background:

• E-cigarette use is prevalent among youth.
• Effective school-based prevention programs are needed for elementary students.
• Existing programs often lack evidence for this age group.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a school-based e-cigarette prevention curriculum for elementary students.
• To assess changes in knowledge, refusal skills, coping skills, self-efficacy, and intentions to use e-cigarettes.
• To address the gap in evidence-based vaping prevention for young children.

Main Methods:

• A pre-post evaluation design was used with 130 fifth-graders.
• The curriculum consisted of two sessions focused on vaping prevention.
• Surveys assessed learning outcomes, skills, self-efficacy, and intentions before and after the program.

Main Results:

• Participants showed significant improvements in e-cigarette knowledge (p < 0.01).
• Improvements were also noted in self-efficacy and refusal skills (p < 0.05).
• Over 43% reported close contacts who vape, highlighting exposure risks.

Conclusions:

• The elementary school-based e-cigarette prevention curriculum effectively increased student knowledge.
• The findings support the use of such programs to combat youth vaping.
• Further research may explore long-term impacts and broader skill development.