DOI: 10.7272/q63t9fgb
title: Behavioral research of environment and air pollution through education (BREATHE) study data

description: Despite the wealth of scientific literature on the health effects of air
 pollution, the public’s personal choices in their daily lives continues to
 be largely detrimental towards the environment, and public support for the
 generation of policies to regulate sources of pollution has remained
 modest. The objective of this study was to determine whether a
 short interactive teaching session on air pollution can shift the
 behavioral choices of adolescents towards environmentally friendlier
 options.  To examine the long-term effects of a short interactive
 teaching session about air pollution on the understanding and behavioral
 choices of adolescents, we performed a pilot randomized control trial
 (ClinicalTrials.gov ID#NCT02471872) in which the 8th grade students from
 KIPP school (Knowledge Is Power Program, a national network of free open
 enrollment college preparatory public schools dedicated towards students
 in underserved communities) in San Jose, CA, were randomized to receive a
 1-hour systematic script-based teaching on either lung health effects of
 air pollution (intervention group) or role of vaccination in public health
 (control group). Written parental informed consent as well as written
 child assent was obtained from all participating students. The enrolled
 students then completed a survey designed by our group to evaluate their
 understanding and predict their future behavior towards air pollution
 immediately before and 1 month after the teaching session. The
 questionnaire consisted of 15 multiple-choice questions with 5 questions
 targeting understanding (score range from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of
 20 total possible points) and 10 questions targeting behavioral choices
 (score range from a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 38 total possible
 points). Overall, 71 students from 3 different classes
 (age=13.5±0.6 years; 65% female; median annual family income=$25K-$50K)
 were enrolled in the study, out of whom 36 were randomized to the
 intervention group. 
description: We performed a randomized control trial in which eighth-grade
 students were randomized to receive a one-hour script-based teaching on
 either the effects of air pollution on lung health (intervention group) or
 the role of vaccination in public health (control group). The enrolled
 students completed a survey (15 multiple-choice questions; five targeting
 understanding (score range 5-20); ten targeting behavioral choices (score
 range 10-38)) designed to evaluate their understanding and predict their
 future behavior towards air pollution immediately before, immediately
 after, and one month after the teaching sessions.
description: Data is stored in a Microsoft Excel file, with self-explanatory
 column names. Empty cells represent missing values due
 to missing responses from some participants.
description: Title of Dataset: # Behavioral Research of Environment and Air Pollution
 Through Education (BREATHE) Study Data *** *Brief summary of dataset
 contents, contextualized in experimental procedures and results.* ##
 ABSTRACT Despite the wealth of scientific literature on the health effects
 of air pollution, the public’s personal choices in their daily lives
 continues to be largely detrimental towards the environment, and public
 support for the generation of policies to regulate sources of pollution
 has remained modest. The objective of this study was to determine whether
 a short interactive teaching session on air pollution can shift the
 behavioral choices of adolescents towards environmentally friendlier
 options. To examine the long-term effects of a short interactive teaching
 session about air pollution on the understanding and behavioral choices of
 adolescents, we performed a pilot randomized control trial
 (ClinicalTrials.gov ID#NCT02471872) in which the
 8<sup>th</sup> grade students from KIPP school (Knowledge Is
 Power Program, a national network of free open enrollment college
 preparatory public schools dedicated towards students in underserved
 communities) in San Jose, CA, were randomized to receive a 1-hour
 systematic script-based teaching on either lung health effects of air
 pollution (intervention group) or role of vaccination in public health
 (control group). Written parental informed consent as well as written
 child assent was obtained from all participating students. The enrolled
 students then completed a survey designed by our group to evaluate their
 understanding and predict their future behavior towards air pollution
 immediately before and 1 month after the teaching session. The
 questionnaire consisted of 15 multiple-choice questions with 5 questions
 targeting understanding (score range from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of
 20 total possible points) and 10 questions targeting behavioral choices
 (score range from a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 38 total possible
 points). Overall, 71 students from 3 different classes (age=13.5±0.6
 years; 65% female; median annual family income=$25K-$50K) were enrolled in
 the study, out of whom 36 were randomized to the intervention group. ##
 Data file The data is an Excel tabular file. The title of each column is
 self-explanatory. There is no additional key code for the data. Empty
 cells represent missing values due to missing responses from some
 participants. *** More detail about the study can be found at
 ClinicalTrials.gov (ID:NCT02471872).