Date Posted: June 11, 2026

Author/s: Sean Atasha DL. Aggabao, Leila Nadine C. Manalo, Jhonlouie Mendegorin, Michaela P. Padolina, Scarlet Ann P. Tonio, Jebb Patrick M. Delos Santos

Based on the World Health Organization report in 2021, there were 991 million tobacco smokers in 2020 globally making cigarette smoking a persistent health challenge worldwide. In the Philippines, only limited efforts are conducted to educate cigarette smokers regarding its detrimental effects. The research aimed to assess the effectiveness of a flipchart intervention on cigarette smokers by measuring the change in perceived knowledge and perceived desire through pre-test and post-test questionnaires. The study employed an interventional pre-test-post-test research design. Simple random sampling technique was used and the target sample size was calculated using OpenEpi Version 3 resulting in 98 participants. The study was conducted last March 2024 in Sitio Magnolia and 88 participants were able to receive the intervention. Majority of the participants were male (51.14%), between 18-35 years old (47.73%), able to finish high school level (64.77%), and had a monthly income of Php 1,001-10,000 (39.77%). The majority had been smoking for 1-5 years (47.73%), were light smokers (97.73%), and their reason for smoking was due to stress (39.62%). Overall, there was a decrease in the perceived desire mean scores (Pre-test Scores: 2.62 (Q1) and 3.14 (Q2) and Post-test Scores: 2.14 (Q1) and 2.38 (Q2)) indicating a decrease in the respondents’ crave to smoke. In terms of perceived knowledge, the overall average for pre-test and post-test were 74.20% and 78.07%, respectively. Perceived desire and perceived knowledge pre-test and post-test results revealed significant differences (p-values: 0.003, <.001, <.001) using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test which emphasized the effectiveness of the intervention. Participants expressed positive satisfaction with the interventional having mean scores of 4.61 and above. Researchers recommend a longitudinal study for both desire and knowledge and an increase in the sample population for better generalizability.

Keywords:
Perceived desire, perceived knowledge, flipchart educational material, intervention