Improving awareness on household flood preparedness and flood-related communicable diseases among students from high schools in Yangon Region, Myanmar

Background: Rainfall-related, river-related, and coastal flooding are expected to be found at Yangon City in upcoming years with increasing climate change and sea level rise. Moreover, outbreaks prone infections can occur during and after flooding. Active participation of youth in flood hazard preparedness can promote overall personal, family, and community resilience. Objectives: To improve students’ awareness on household flood preparedness and flood-related communicable diseases. Methods: Quasi-experimental study was conducted at two high schools from Kyeemyingdaing and Pazundaung townships. The health education package included health talks and poster displays for students from the intervention group. Data collection was done before and one month after health education. To assess and compare the awareness of students, the difference in difference (DID) was calculated and the effect of the intervention was analysed by multiple linear regression analysis using STATA. Results: Awareness scores between the two groups were not different before the intervention. The awareness score difference between before and after intervention in the intervention group was significantly larger than that of the control group (DID) with mean different scores on flood preparedness, 1.13; flood-related infection, 2.23; and overall awareness, 3.36 respectively. The overall awareness among students from the intervention group was 3.4 scores higher than those from the controls (95% CI 2.4 to 4.3, p<0.001). Conclusion: The awareness of household flood preparedness and flood-related communicable diseases was improved significantly among the students from the intervention groups with higher scores than that of the control groups. Therefore, this health education package can be applied in other schools from flood-prone areas to improve the awareness of students.