Effectiveness of a Social Marketing Mix Intervention on Changing the Smoking Behavior of Santri in Traditional Islamic Boarding Schools in Indonesia.

OBJECTIVES

This study investigated the effectiveness of the social marketing mix approach in increasing students' knowledge about smoking, promoting positive attitudes toward smoking cessation, and decreasing smoking behavior.

METHODS

This quantitative research study incorporated a quasi-experimental method with a pretest-posttest non-equivalent group design. Using the purposive sampling technique, 152 smoking students were selected as participants. They were divided into 2 equal groups, with 76 students in the control group and 76 in the intervention group. The data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed with the chi-square test, independent t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Mann-Whitney U-test.

RESULTS

The social marketing mix intervention was effective in increasing the students' knowledge about smoking (p<0.001), improving their attitude toward smoking cessation (p<0.001), and reducing their smoking behavior (p=0.014).

CONCLUSIONS

This approach should be implemented by local governments to reduce smoking behavior in the community, especially among teenagers, in addition to instituting a smoking ban and applying fines.