Parental Awareness of Microplastic Pollution and its Relation with Healthy Living Education Consciousness

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the relationship between parents’ awareness of microplastic pollution and their levels of awareness regarding their children’s physical health, nutrition, hygiene, mental health, and social activity. Methods: This study was conducted based on the correlational survey model. The study group consisted of parents residing in different cities of Turkey who had at least one child aged between 0 and 18 years during the research period. A total of 362 parents participated in the study. Data were collected from February to May 2023 using the “Personal Information Form,” “Microplastic Pollution Awareness Scale,” and “Parental Healthy Living Education Consciousness Level” scales. Descriptive statistics [number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, median (25th-75th percentile)], Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis H tests, and Spearman correlation analysis were used in the evaluation of the data. Results: The average age of the participating parents was found to be 39.0±7.1, 53.9% were male, 92.8% were married, 67.2% had an education level of an associate degree or higher, and 47.2% had two children. Women’s physical health, nutrition, hygiene, and mental health scores were statistically significantly higher than those of men, and it was determined that the parents participating in this study had a high awareness of microplastic pollution. The nutrition and mental health scores of parents with education levels of high school or lower were found to be statistically significantly lower than those with an associate degree or higher. Weak positive linear relationships were found between physical health and awareness of microplastic pollution (r=0.142; p=0.007). Conclusions: In line with the results of the study, educational programs can be developed for parents, especially fathers, to help their children develop healthy eating and hygiene habits, and awareness levels of families regarding physical and mental health can be increased. Informative trainings can be created and disseminated to encourage mothers and fathers to equally share responsibilities by addressing gender roles in society.