Health literacy towards self-protection behavior from the use of chemical pesticides among watermelon farmers, Kham Kaeo Subdistrict, Sophisai District, Buengkan Province
Keywords:
Watermelon farmers, Health literacy, Self-protection behavior, PesticidesAbstract
This cross-sectional descriptive research examined the effect of health literacy on self-protective behaviors against pesticide use among watermelon farmers in Kham Kaeo Subdistrict, Sophisai District, Bueng Kan Province. The sample consisted of 213 watermelon farmers selected through simple random sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires comprising three parts: personal factors, health literacy, and self-protective behaviors against pesticides use. Content validity was assessed by three experts, with item-objective congruence (IOC) scores ranging from 0.67-1.00. Reliability analysis using Cronbach's alpha showed coefficients of 0.760 for health literacy and 0.765 for self-protective behavior. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression analysis, witha significance level of 0.05
The results showed that the farmers had a high level of self-protective behavior against pesticides use (Mean = 40.8, S.D. = 0.37) and a moderate level of health literacy (Mean = 139.56, S.D. = 0.96). Regression coefficients showed that the health literacy predictors including media literacy (Beta = 0.268, p-value < 0.001) and self-management (Beta = 0.245, p-value < 0.001) were significant predictors of self-protective behavior against pesticide use among farmers, with statistical significance at the 0.05 level. The research suggests organizing activities that promote media literacy and self-management skills to enhance appropriate self-protective behaviors when using pesticides.
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