The effect of an educational program for hookah use prevention among high school male students: Application of the prototype willingness model

INTRODUCTION The popularity of hookah use among adolescents has become a major concern and there is a need for an appropriate educational strategy to prevent hookah use. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the effect of an educational program for hookah use prevention among high school male students using the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) in Kermanshah city, Iran. METHOD The present study was a randomized controlled trial study on 83 male adolescents in Kermanshah. We performed multi-stage random sampling. The data collection tool included a researcher-made questionnaire based on the Prototype Willingness Model. The intervention program consisted of 5 training sessions. We followed up the participants two months after the intervention, and analyzed data using SPSS Statistics 22.0. RESULTS In the present study, scores of all model constructs were significant between the two groups after the intervention, except for positive prototypes of non-hookah users ( p<0.001). The greatest effect of the intervention was on reducing the positive attitude (-3.42 +/- 5.7) and reducing the willingness to use hookah (-3.35 +/- 5.1). After the intervention, the comparison of hookah use frequencies was significant among the participants in the experimental and control groups in the last month and now (p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS The research results indicate that the educational intervention based on the Prototype Willingness Model ( PWM) was an appropriate educational strategy for reducing hookah use in male adolescents.