Effectiveness of Educational Intervention to Improve Knowledge and Intention of Safe Pesticide Use Among Vegetable Farmers in Pokhara, Nepal. :A Quasi-Experimental Study

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured educational program grounded in the Health Belief Model (HBM) in improving awareness, attitudes, and health beliefs related to the safe use of pesticides among commercial vegetable farmers in Pokhara, Nepal. Intervention arm: Materials and Resources: The training booklet (module) will be developed by the researcher specifically for this study, based on HBM constructs, and reviewed by the research supervisor and public/health education expert from the provincial health training center and concerned government authorities. Intervention Toolkit: Printed handouts and presentation slides will be created for this study to support the three-hour training session. Approval: Educational booklet content will be reviewed and pretested in 10% of the intervention sample outside the intervention ward and revised accordingly and approved by local governments (Pokhara Metropolitan City Agriculture and Livestock Division) with coordination of the Health Training Center. Further endorsement will be carried out by the Local Government Agricultural and Livestock Division, the National Health Education, Information and Communication Centre (NHEICC), the Ministry of Health and Population, Nepal. Procedures & Timeline: Pretest (First Week): One week before educational intervention, a structured questionnaire assessed baseline knowledge, attitudes based on the HBM construct, and intention of safe pesticide use of commercial vegetable farmers. Training/Educational Intervention Session (Second Week): Duration: A single three-hour face-to-face educational session will be delivered in Nepali. Participants in the intervention arm will be organized into small groups based on geographical proximity of farms within Ward 25 of Pokhara Metropolitan City to facilitate participation and interaction. Each group will consist of approximately 6–12 commercial vegetable farmers, ensuring effective discussion and engagement during the session. A total of five groups will be formed to accommodate the 51 participants enrolled in the intervention arm. Content: Mini lecture on pesticide labels, color codes, and hazards; long-term and short-term health impacts of pesticides; risks of pesticides; modes of entry of pesticides; precautionary actions of pesticides during mixing, spraying, and handling of pesticides and management of used pesticides and disposal of pesticide-related waste; and personal protective equipment. Facilitators: Principal investigator or trained public health professionals and agricultural technical assistant. The PI or qualified health professionals will coach the agricultural assistant on the intervention package for facilitating the farmers. Follow-up visit: A follow-up visit will be conducted at farmers’ fields/farm sites by trained health professionals/researchers to briefly reinforce key messages from the educational session, including long-term and short-term health impact, the color code of pesticide, harvesting interval, and safe pesticide handling, PPE use, storage, and disposal. Farmers will be asked whether they reviewed the intervention booklet and will be reminded of the main key messages. Duration of follow-up visit: Approximately 10–15 minutes per participant Monitoring adherence: Adherence will be monitored through session attendance, follow-up visit records, and brief self-report questions on whether farmers reviewed the booklet and recalled key intervention messages. Post-Test (Week 6): Forty-two days after the educational intervention session, the same questionnaire will be re-administered to measure changes in knowledge and intention of safe pesticide use among vegetable farmers of the intervention ward (Ward no. 25). Total intervention period: six weeks (one phase). Delivery Details: Mode: In-person and group settings. Language: Nepali (Local Language)