Capacity transformation of environmental health cadres through the PILAH (integrated guide for waste management) program

Waste management remains a major challenge in Bonto Perak Village due to the community's low level of knowledge and skills in sorting and processing household waste. Environmental health cadres were selected as intervention targets because of their strategic role as agents of change at the community level. Within the Theory of Planned Behavior framework, positive attitudes and strong behavioral intentions are the primary determinants of actual behavior, while increased knowledge serves as a foundation for strengthening both aspects. Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of the PILAH (Integrative Waste Management Guidelines for Waste Management) program in strengthening cadres’ capacity through participatory education. Methods: A quasi-experimental study with a one- group pretest–posttest design was conducted among 18 cadres from different neighborhoods. The intervention included interactive education sessions, distribution of the PILAH handbook, and composting practice. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Knowledge scores significantly improved after the intervention (p=0.008). Behavioral intention increased from 83.3% to 100% in the “good” category, though not statistically significant (p=0.083). Attitudes remained consistently positive, with all cadres in the “good” category before and after the intervention (p=1.000). The PILAH program effectively enhanced cadres’ knowledge and strengthened their behavioral intentions, despite the latter not reaching statistical significance, while maintaining consistently positive attitudes. The program is recommended for replication in other communities with continuous support to ensure sustainable waste management practices.