Iranian Journal of

Background and Objective: Nowadays, with the increasing environmental issues such as energy crisis, climate change, waste generation and destruction of natural resources and the increase of waste materials due to the development of urbanization, human impact on the environment is one of the most challenging issues of the scientific community. The purpose of this study was to measure the level of awareness and environmental behaviors of Yazd citizens.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 1000 residents of Yazd in 2018 by cluster sampling. The data collection tool was a standard questionnaire for knowledge, attitude and environmental behavior. The score range for the three knowledge, attitude and practice structures was 0-12, 13-65, and 17-55, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and analytical tests at the significance level of 0.05 using spss16 software.
Results: One hundred percent of the questionnaires were completed. Mean score of knowledge and environmental attitude was 8.23 ± 3.92 and 36.15 ± 8.28 (moderate), and of the environmental behavior was 26.19 ± 7.14 (poor). There was a significant statistical difference between knowledge and environmental behavior of women and men. The level of knowledge and environmental behavior of women was higher (p<0.05). The largest source of environmental information was radio and television (42%).
Conclusion:  Despite the relatively good awareness and attitude towards the environment, the majority of the people had poor performance due to the environmental behavior. Therefore, environmental awareness cannot be a guarantee of environmental behavior. It also needs to encourage persuasive social conditions and structure and facilitating environmental behaviors.
 

Background and Objective: pesticides are essential to protect plants from pests and diseases. Extensive and unsafe use of pesticides by farmers pose various risks to human health and the environment. Therefore, the present study evaluates farmers' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding pesticides use and the health problems associated with their use.
Materials and Methods: In this human-research survey the target population consisted of 6170 farmers and fruit growers in Galogah County, Mazandaran province, were included. Multi-stage cluster sampling was used to select samples within 2 sub-districts and 13 villages, and the information was collected through 379 questionnaires. Statistical tests such as Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis H, Spearman Correlation and Linear Regression were used to analyze the obtained data.
Results: The respondents have no sufficient knowledge regarding the safe use of pesticides. Respondents' attitudes toward the impacts of pesticide use were positive. The safety measures were less considered by majority of respondents. Moreover, the results revealed that personal protective equipment (mask, gloves and, goggles) and safe disposal of pesticide residues are not fully taken into consideration. The dizziness, skin problems, headache and vomiting were the most common symptoms of pesticide-related illnesses. The findings of regression analysis showed that wide range of knowledge and proper attitudes about the safe use of pesticides are beneficial and can act as the promoting factor in farmers' safety behavior regarding pesticides use.
Conclusion:  In conclusion, providing pesticide users with sufficient knowledge, safety information and effective personal equipment such as wearing masks, goggles and gloves should be given highest priorities.

Background and Objective: The most important first step in promoting environmental performance is identifying and evaluating environmental behavior. In this regard the measuring tool is considered an environmental behavior questionnaire. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire before its application is essential. Thus this research was conducted with the aim of assessing the validity and reliability of questionnaires.
Materials and Methods: The environmental behavior questionnaire containing 36 questions was designed using the literature review and expert panel opinions. Then, the validity of the questionnaire was assessed by content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) and its reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient by 14 experts and 40 target groups. Finally, data were analyzed by SPSS 20 software.
Results: The results showed that the questionnaire with 36 items had CVI and CVR of 0.896 and 0.726, respectively, and 4 items should be excluded from the questionnaire due to non-compliance with content validity indices. The questionnaire exhibited high internal consistency and hence was acceptable owing to the Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.85.
Conclusion: The questionnaire was designed to evaluate environmental performance of citizens and can be cited in future studies.

Background and Objective: Microplastic pollution is recognized as a major environmental threat, and individuals’ Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors play a crucial role in its prevention. This study aimed to assess the levels of Knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviors of students at Khoy University of Medical Sciences toward microplastic pollution.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among students of Khoy University of Medical Sciences. All enrolled students (n = 550) were invited to participate using a voluntary census-based approach, of whom 400 completed the questionnaire. After excluding incomplete responses, data from 372 participants were included in the final analysis. Data were collected using a two-part questionnaire comprising demographic characteristics and a researcher-developed instrument assessing knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding the prevention of microplastic pollution. Content validity was confirmed using the content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI), and reliability was established through test–retest analysis (ICC = 0.78) and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.83–0.95). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and ordinal logistic regression in STATA version 15.
Results: The findings indicated that students’ levels of knowledge and preventive behaviors were predominantly moderate, while their attitudes toward preventing microplastic pollution were mostly positive. Ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that higher levels of knowledge (OR = 3.98, 95% CI = 1.91–8.28)and positive attitudes (OR = 14.96, 95% CI = 7.26–30.83) significantly increased the likelihood of engaging in preventive behaviors. In addition, younger age (OR = 9.41, 95% CI = 1.26–7.29), being married (OR = 3.03, 95% CI = 3.33–26.52), higher maternal educational level (OR = 2.99, 95% CI = 1.24–7.17), and father's employment status (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.02–2.73) were identified as demographic factors effective in promoting preventive behaviors.
Conclusion: The results suggest that enhancing Knowledge and fostering positive attitudes considerably improve preventive behaviors against microplastic pollution among students. Therefore, implementing targeted educational programs focusing on increasing knowledge and strengthening positive attitudes is essential for promoting preventive practices and mitigating the environmental impacts of microplastics.