Abstract
BackgroundThe Mexico City Metropolitan Area has an expansive urban population and a long history of air quality management challenges. Poor air quality has been associated with adverse pulmonary and cardiac health effects, particularly among susceptible populations with underlying disease. In addition to reducing pollution concentrations, risk communication efforts that inform behavior modification have the potential to reduce public health burdens associated with air pollution.MethodsThis study investigates the utilization of Mexico’s IMECA risk communication index to inform air pollution avoidance behavior among the general population living in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area. Individuals were selected via probability sampling and surveyed by phone about their air quality index knowledge, pollution concerns, and individual behaviors.ResultsThe results indicated reasonably high awareness of the air quality index (53% of respondents), with greater awareness in urban areas, among older and more educated individuals, and for those who received air quality information from a healthcare provider. Additionally, behavior modification was less influenced by index reports as it was by personal perceptions of air quality, and there was no difference in behavior modification among susceptible and non-susceptible groups.ConclusionsTaken together, these results suggest there are opportunities to improve the public health impact of risk communication through an increased focus on susceptible populations and greater encouragement of public action in response to local air quality indices.
Highlights
The Mexico City Metropolitan Area has an expansive urban population and a long history of air quality management challenges
The Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA), an expansive urban region with a population of over 20 million, has a long history of air pollution which has impacted the acute and chronic health of those living in its borders [7,8,9]
Demographic information recorded from the 803 participating respondents is summarized in Table 1 and indicates that age and gender of respondents were comparable between the two surveyed areas
Summary
The Mexico City Metropolitan Area has an expansive urban population and a long history of air quality management challenges. While basic science and epidemiological studies have linked components of air pollution (such as particulate matter and ozone) with detrimental health effects [2,3,4], there is still a gap in the existing knowledge regarding how to intervene and limit human exposure in highly polluted areas [5, 6]. The Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA), an expansive urban region with a population of over 20 million, has a long history of air pollution which has impacted the acute and chronic health of those living in its borders [7,8,9]. While air quality in this region has improved markedly since new policies were passed in the early 1990s, pollutant reductions have since reached a standstill and fine particulate matter pollution has worsened in recent years [12]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
