Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this research was to develop and evaluate a peer-led smoking prevention program for Vietnamese adolescents living in rural areas. Research design, data, and methodology: The study was carried out in three stages: program development, intervention implementation, and evaluation. Program development involved five phases: needs assessment, program design, evaluation of the program content and cultural suitability, evaluation of program applicability, and final program design. The developed program was delivered by trained peer educators to second-year middle school students in Region T, Vietnam, in a single 40-minute session. The program was evaluated using a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group pre-posttest design, and a posttest survey was conducted four months after the intervention. Results: The results showed no significant difference between the experimental and control groups. These findings suggest that repeated and continuous educational programs are needed to achieve long-term educational effects among adolescents.