PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Background. Wildfire smoke events are increasing in frequency and intensity due to climate change. Children are especially vulnerable to health effects even at moderate smoke levels. However, it is unclear how parents respond to Air Quality Indices (AQIs) frequently used by agencies to communicate air pollution health risks. Methods. In an experiment (3 × 2 × 2 factorial design), 2,100 parents were randomly assigned to view one of twelve adapted AQI infographics that varied by visual (table, line, gauge), index type (AQI [0-500], AQHI [1-11+]), and risk level (moderate, high). Participants were told to imagine encountering the infographic in a short-term exposure scenario. They reported worry about wildfire smoke, intentions to take risk-mitigating actions (e.g., air purifier use), and support for various exposure reduction policies. Subsequently, participants were told to imagine encountering the same infographic daily during a school week in a long-term exposure scenario and again reported worry, action intentions, and policy support. Results. Parents\' responses significantly differentiated between risk levels that both pose a threat to children\'s health; worry and action intentions were much higher in the high-risk group than the moderate-risk group in both short-exposure (F = 748.68 p<.001; F = 411.59, p<.001) and long-exposure scenarios (F = 470.51, p<.001; F = 212.01, p<.001). However, in the short-exposure scenario, when shown the AQHI [1-11+] with either the line or gauge visuals, parents\' action intentions were more similar between moderate- and high-risk level groups (3-way interaction, F = 6.03, p = .002). Conclusions. These results suggest some index formats such as the AQHI-rather than the AQI-may better attune parents to moderate levels of wildfire smoke being dangerous to children\'s health. Our research offers insights for agencies and officials seeking to improve current public education efforts during wildfire smoke events and speaks to the critical need to educate parents and help them act short-term and long-term to protect children\'s health.
摘要：
背景。由于气候变化，野火烟雾事件的频率和强度都在增加。即使在中等吸烟水平下，儿童也特别容易受到健康影响。然而,目前尚不清楚父母如何应对机构经常使用的空气质量指数（AQI）来传达空气污染健康风险。方法。在实验(3×2×2阶乘设计)中，2,100名父母被随机分配查看十二个适应的AQI信息图之一，这些信息图因视觉而异(表，线,仪表)，索引类型(AQI[0-500]，AQHI[1-11+]),和风险水平(中等，高)。参与者被告知想象在短期暴露场景中遇到信息图。他们报告担心野火烟雾，采取减轻风险措施的意图(例如，空气净化器使用)，并支持各种减少暴露的政策。随后，参与者被告知要想象在长期暴露情况下，每天在学校一周内遇到相同的信息图，并再次报告担忧，行动意图，和政策支持。结果。父母的反应在对儿童健康构成威胁的风险水平之间显着不同；在短期暴露（F=748.68p<.001；F=411.59，p<.001）和长期暴露情况（F=470.51，p<.001；F=212.01，p<.001）中，高风险组的担忧和行动意图远高于中等风险组。然而,在短期暴露的情况下，当显示带有线条或仪表视觉效果的AQHI[1-11+]时，父母的行动意图在中度和高风险组之间更相似(3向互动，F=6.03，p=.002）。Conclusions.这些结果表明，一些指数格式，如AQHI而不是AQI，可能会更好地让父母了解适度的野火烟雾对儿童健康的危害。我们的研究为寻求在野火烟雾事件期间改善当前公共教育工作的机构和官员提供了见解，并谈到了教育父母并帮助他们采取短期和长期行动以保护儿童健康的迫切需要。
