Education on mercury exposure from fish and its processed products among school children in the Kenjeran Beach Area, Surabaya

Abstract

Introduction. Fish is a protein source that can be easily found especially in Indonesia, a maritime country. However, the development of industrialization also contributes to increased pollution. In some cases, industrial wastewater contains metals that can be toxic for fish and their processed products. Mercury is one of the heavy metals that is commonly found in fish and has been found to have negative impacts on the health of the human body especially on kids. Objective. The purpose of this study is to increase schoolchildren's knowledge of the risks of mercury exposure from fish and their products. Methods. A quasi-experimental pre-post-test design was conducted among 120 elementary school students in SDN Sukolilo 250 and SDN Komplek Kenjeran II. The sampling method was done using simple random sampling. Elementary school students were divided into two groups. The intervention group received information about the dangers of mercury contamination in fish and its products and the control group received general education about the behavior of a clean and healthy lifestyle. Results. From the test, we found that the result of the paired sample t-test is <0.001 and the delta of mean score between pre-test and post-test among the intervention group was higher than the control group. Conclusion. Nutrition education in elementary students may influence the nutritional behavior of food consumption and mercury awareness. Nutrition education had a positive effect on individual behavior by increasing knowledge, behavioral intentions, and perceived behavioral control.