We will consider sustainable behaviour change, from a socio-ecological stance, bringing together evidence of the multifaceted effects of the contextual factors that determine behaviours, and the organizational leverage points for health promotion, determined in WP1-6.

 In Year 3, starting with a consortium workshop, we will focus our researchers’ efforts on provision of strategies for enacting behaviour change. Primarily, this will be through delivery of public information products on the effectiveness of personal particulate air pollution (PAP) exposure reduction practices, informed by the previous WPs and also containing external knowledge (e.g., staying informed using air quality apps which can guide decision making on the need for protective actions). Efforts may also involve helping agencies to draft new policies or undertake ethical decision-making processes. The International Society for Respiratory Protection (project partners) will support the project by addressing barriers and logistics related to the sustainable recommendation of effective, affordable facemasks (i.e. identifying/developing masks for children, supporting development of standards, improving supply chains to local pharmacies/convenience stores etc.).

To maximise usefulness and uptake of guidance, the information products will be co-designed and evaluated with the communities and practitioner partners, as their expertise is critical.

1) Product development: Using the FGD data from WP4, on learning behaviours, we will identify the best types of informational products and associated ‘targets’ (carers/teachers/ages of children) for each city. We will then hold workshops with children and their carers to investigate their social learning strategies, to ensure that products are designed to be effective for learning and behaviour change. For example, in relation to trusting the ‘authority’ characters portrayed in the products, as children age, they change from learning from parents to teachers/peers and we all employ various heuristics influencing whom we trust. To design the products’ content, further workshops with the ‘targets’ (children and carers) and our practitioner partners will be held, following which we will work with graphic designers and videographers to produce the products both for local and international use. Concurrently, we will design products for international dissemination, aimed at carers.

2) Product evaluation: To gauge the final products’ potential to impact learning and behaviour, we will conduct evaluations, in schools of varying socioeconomic status, and with carers, involving qualitative FGDs and quantitative cultural-consensus analysis. The target population’s cultural consensus is established (factor analysis) on beliefs about air pollution and protective measures, before and after information provision. Shifts in resultant factor categories determine whether desired aspects of this consensus are changed following the intervention, and the learning depth is assessed. Modelling (SEM) combines the cultural consensus data with a covariate questionnaire concerning pertinent target characteristics. We will also compare learning in children viewing products designed for them versus those designed for adults.