The Effects of a Health Literacy Enhancement Program for Rabies Prevention among Student Leaders at Lahansai Witthaya School, Buriram Province

Abstract

This quasi-experimental research, utilizing a one-group pretest-posttest design, aimed to study the effects of a health literacy enhancement program for rabies prevention among student leaders at Lahansai Witthaya School, Lahansai District, Buriram Province. The sample consisted of 30 junior high school student leaders selected through Simple Random Sampling. The research instruments included a health literacy enhancement program focusing on five core skills: access, understanding, questioning, decision-making, and application. The program was implemented over a 12-week period. Data collection tools comprised a general information questionnaire, a health literacy assessment, a knowledge test, and a rabies prevention behavior assessment. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The differences between pre-test and post-test mean scores were compared using the paired t-test.

The results of the study revealed that after participating in the program, the participants' mean scores for health literacy = 86.00 (S.D. ± 8.15), rabies knowledge = 9.36 (S.D. ± 1.29), and prevention behavior = 16.13 (S.D. = 3.24) were significantly higher than their pre-test scores = 74.10 (S.D. ± 9.60), = 8.30 (S.D. ± 1.08) and = 14.30 (S.D. ± 3.18) respectively, at a statistical significance level of P-value <0.001, 0.005, and 0.021. Furthermore, the participants reported a high level of satisfaction with the program = 4.40 (S.D. ± 0.63). These findings demonstrate that the program is effective in enhancing the potential of student leaders. Consequently, the program should be expanded to the general student body and community networks to ensure the sustainability of rabies prevention.