Abstract
BackgroundThe widespread forest fires in Indonesia in June 2013 led to widespread haze to neighbouring countries. This is the first study in the medical literature reporting the acute physical and psychological symptoms of the general population during a haze crisis. We evaluated the factors that are associated with psychological stress of haze exposure.MethodsThis study was conducted between June 21 to June 26, 2013. Participants were recruited by an online recruitment post and snowball sampling techniques. Participants were required to complete an online survey which was composed of demographics questionnaire, physical symptom checklist, perceived dangerous Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) value and views on the N-95 mask and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R).ResultsA total of 298 participants returned the completed study questionnaire. The respondents reported a mean number of 4.03 physical symptoms (S.D. = 2.6). The five most common physical symptoms include mouth or throat discomfort (68.8%), nose discomfort (64.1%), eye discomfort (60.7%), headache (50.3%) and breathing difficulty (40.3%). The total IES-R score was 18.47 (S.D. = 11.69) which indicated that the study population experienced mild psychological stress but not to the extent of acute stress reaction syndrome. The perceived dangerous PSI level and number of physical symptoms were significantly associated with the mean intrusion score, mean hyper-arousal score, total mean IES-R score and total IES-R score (p < 0.05).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that a haze crisis is associated with acute physical symptoms and mild psychological stress. The number of physical symptoms and the perceived dangerous PSI values are important factors associated with psychological stress.
Highlights
The widespread forest fires in Indonesia in June 2013 led to widespread haze to neighbouring countries
The participants rated on the range of selfperceived dangerous Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) values (Can you state the level of PSI (0–500) which you find dangerous to your health?), personal possession and perceived usefulness of the N-95 mask on 5-point Likert scales
There were no significant differences between men and women in demographics variables and scores on psychological stress
Summary
The widespread forest fires in Indonesia in June 2013 led to widespread haze to neighbouring countries. This is the first study in the medical literature reporting the acute physical and psychological symptoms of the general population during a haze crisis. In June 2013, Southeast Asia experienced its worst haze crisis. In early June, 2013, the haze was created by palm oil plantations and farmers in Indonesia who adopted the ‘slash- and-burn’ technique to prepare land for agricultural use. The PSI reached a hazardous level of 321 at 10 pm on June 19 2013 and the highest level of 401 on June 21 This led to a massive rush amongst Southeast Asians to stock up on the N-95 masks. Since June 24, the PSI had fallen to moderate range but the government reminded its citizens to remain vigilant
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