Assessment of Knowledge, Perceptions, and Practices Toward Climate Change and it’s Effects on Health Among University Students in Jalalabd, Afghanistan

Abstract

Climate change (CC) is a complex global environmental challenge that has a worldwide effect on public health, development, agriculture, water supplies, and energy production. In addition to international efforts, youth engagement is vital to environmental conservation and climate action support. Therefore, the study aimed to assess knowledge, perceptions, and practices toward CC and its effects on health among university students in Jalalabd, Afghanistan. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted on 471 public and private university students in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, from September 2023 to December 2023. A non-probability-convenient sampling technique was used to select study participants. The data were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 28. In this study, a total of 471 students were enrolled. 87.3% were male and 12.7% were female. Majority of them (95.5%) had heard of CC and believed that it affected their communities. The main sources of information about CC were television and radio (77.5%). Water-borne diseases, disruption of health services, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, malnutrition, vector-borne disease, were identified by students as CC related health impacts. Among the students, (72.8%) had adequate knowledge, and (27.2%) were having inadequate knowledge regarding CC and its effects on health. Raising public awareness, adopting environmentally friendly technologies, increasing tree planting, and proper waste disposal were mentioned by over 90% of the students as ways to reduce CC. Most common eco-friendly practices among the students were using recyclable products (77.2%), using public transportation (77.1%), and using energy-efficient lightbulbs (75.2%). There was a significant association between the students’ knowledge and their practices. In addition, university type, academic year level, and information sources were significantly related to their knowledge. The study concluded that the majority of the participants were aware of CC and agreed that CC is a serious problem, but they had inadequate practices compared to their knowledge.  It is crucial to translate students' knowledge into deliberate practices. In order to implement eco-friendly practices, students must be inspired to care for the environment through various activities on important environmental days, like world environment day.