Supplementary file 1_Beyond awareness: the knowledge–attitude–practice disconnect in e-waste management in an informal settlement of Delhi.docx

Firth penalized logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with adequate knowledge, positive attitudes, and good practices. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to assess correlations among KAP scores, and relationships were further examined using a hypothesized structural path model with indirect effects estimated from 5,000 bootstrap resamples and bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals.</p>Results<p>Adequate knowledge was present in 17.18% of participants, positive attitudes in 44.47%, and good e-waste management practices in only 11.29%.

Higher educational attainment was associated with adequate knowledge and a positive attitude, while younger participants, paid employment and ownership of >7 electronic gadgets were associated with higher odds of adequate knowledge and good practice. Knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were positively correlated (Spearman’s ρ = 0.253–0.481; all p < 0.001). In the path model, knowledge was positively associated with attitude and practice, while attitude was also positively associated with practice; however, the indirect pathway through attitude was not statistically significant (b = 0.013; bootstrap 95% CI: −0.001 to 0.026; p = 0.063).</p>Conclusion<p>A substantial knowledge–attitude–practice gap in e-waste management was observed: despite modest knowledge and comparatively more favorable attitudes, safe disposal practices remained exceptionally low, and attitude did not significantly mediate the knowledge–practice association, with knowledge instead retaining a direct association with practice.

Community-level e-waste interventions should strengthen awareness of health risks and formal disposal pathways while improving access to authorized collection and recycling services, with their effectiveness evaluated through future longitudinal and intervention studies.</p>