Raising awareness of children on air pollution and its health effects: the MAPEC_LIFE experience in health communication

MAPEC_LIFE is a project founded by EU Life+ Programme (LIFE12 ENV/IT/000614) which intends to evaluate the associations between air pollution and early biological effects in children. One of the objectives of the project is the awareness-raising of children on air quality and its health effects. To achieve this goal an educational package was created and validated. The type of tool and the topics to insert in the educational package have been discussed in a focus group with primary school teachers and it was decided to use a cartoon and three educational video games, with a more complex explanation for teachers and parents through five dedicated leaflets. They were further tested for efficacy and pleasantness in a pilot test on 266 children attending the second and third grades of seven primary school in four Italian city (Pisa, Turin, Brescia and Lecce). Finally, a control test on 51 children was carried out to assess the increase of knowledge without the use of video games and educational cartoon. The didactic cards produced for teachers and parents faced five main topics: atmospheric pollutants, environmental policy, health effects of pollutants, healthy lifestyles and cellular effects of pollutants. The children dedicated tools included an introductory storyboard explaining the main information of the above cited topics, and three videogames on the most important messages: air pollution, lifestyles and cellular effects. The pilot study showed an increase of knowledge in children after using the education tools compared to the control test. In addition the children involved expressed a high level score on the pleasantness of the game. This intervention of environmental education and health literacy showed that the use of educational video games with tailored messages is very useful in stimulating interest and improving knowledge of children.