Education and a Short Animated Film to Promote Climate Change Prevention: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Pregnant Women's Awareness and Hope

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of climate change prevention education and a short animated film on pregnant women's levels of awareness and hope. BACKGROUND: Climate change poses significant risks to maternal and fetal health, and pregnancy provides a unique opportunity to raise awareness and promote preventive behaviors. DESIGN: A single-blind randomized controlled trial METHODS: This study was conducted between November 1, 2024, and July 17, 2025, at the antenatal outpatient clinics of the Obstetrics Department of Konya City Hospital in Konya/Türkiye. The intervention group received a 30-min face-to-face training session based on WHO guidelines. Two weeks later, they were shown a short animated film online. The control group received routine antenatal care only. Data collection tools included the Climate Change Awareness Scale for Pregnant Women (CCASPW), the Climate Change Hope Scale (CCHS), and Climate Change-Related Questions. Descriptive statistics, the independent samples t-test, the chi-square test, the McNemar-Bowker test, and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: In the intervention group, significant increases were observed in the total and all subscale scores of the CCASPW, as well as in the total, personal-sphere willpower and waypower, and collective-sphere willpower and waypower subscale scores of the CCHS. No significant changes were observed in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that climate change prevention education combined with a short animated film significantly increased awareness and hope among pregnant women. The improvements in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors indicate that this intervention positively influenced cognitive awareness.