A Study of Environmental Health Literacy for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Prevention among Village Health Volunteers: A Case Study of Eco Industrial Town

Abstract

This study aimed to: 1) examine environmental health literacy of village health volunteers in Eco Industrial Town regarding the prevention of health effects from fine particulate matter (PM_2.5); 2) differentiate environmental health literacy among village health volunteers based on their sociodemographic factors; and 3) investigate the influence of environmental health literacy on preventive behaviors related to fine particulate matter. The study was conducted among 266 village health volunteers in 15 provinces of Eco Industrial Town, selected using multi-stage random sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire with a reliability from 0.80 to 0.95. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis. Of the sample group, 90.2% were female, 59.8% were married, and 55% had less than 13 years of experience as village health volunteers. 55.6% were under 60 years old, 53% had lived in the community for more than 40 years, 53.8% had completed primary school as their highest level of education, and 40.2% were not housewives/househusbands. The results showed that overall environmental health literacy among village health volunteers was at a moderate level, with an average score of 3.34. The dimensions of environmental health literacy accessing, understanding, verifying and decision-making were also at a moderate level, with average scores of 3.30, 3.23, 3.38 and 3.46, respectively. When comparing the average environmental health literacy scores with sociodemographic factors, the study found statistically significant differences in
environmental health literacy among village health volunteers with varying levels of experience as a health village volunteer, age and education at the 0.01 and 0.05 levels (p-value = 0.024, 0.001, 0.008 respectively). The study also found that understanding environmental health information directly influenced verifying that information. Furthermore, decisions made to protect health directly influenced behaviors related to monitoring self and the community health regarding fine particulate matter. Finally, monitoring self and the community health directly influenced behaviors to prevent exposure to fine particulate matter. These relationships were statistically significant at the 0.05 level, with large effect sizes of 0.94, 0.94, and 0.84, respectively. These findings demonstrate that the components of environmental health literacy are key factors that strongly influence health surveillance behaviors in individuals and communities, and consequently affect behaviors related to preventing exposure to fine particulate matter. Based on these findings, it is recommended that targeted development programs be implemented for village health volunteers in Eco Industrial Town to enhance their environmental health literacy regarding the prevention of health impacts from fine particulate matter. These programs should aim to develop specific skill and competency related to understanding environmental health information, making decisions about health prevention, and monitoring health risks in their communities. In conclusion, further experimental studies are recommended to evaluate the effectiveness of these training programs in changing behaviors and preventing health problems related to fine particulate matter