NDLI: ‘Incense is the one that keeps the air fresh’: indoor air quality perceptions and attitudes towards health risk

Content Provider	Springer Nature : BioMed Central
Author	Williams, Ashley Schulte, Kayla Varaden, Diana
Abstract	Background Air pollution is of significant environmental and public health concern globally. While much research has historically focused on outdoor air pollution, indoor air pollution has been relatively under-explored despite its strong connection with health outcomes, particularly respiratory health. Studies on air pollution exposure mitigation consistently reveal a significant knowledge gap between the understanding of air pollution as a health risk among lay individuals and expert scientists. This study aimed to assess how people define and understand the concept of ‘clean air’ within their home setting. Methods We adopted a mixed-methods approach which used a guided questionnaire designed to elicit both quantitative and qualitative data, collected as digital voice notes. The total sample (n = 40) comprised data from two socially different sites of science and non-science events. We compared whether the notion of clean air inside homes differs between these two different social contexts and how views and ‘sense’ of indoor air pollution are formed. The concept of ‘place’ facilitated fluidity in our explorative analysis. Insights allowed us to assess the extent to which context mediates individuals’ perceptions of indoor air pollution and attitudes towards health risk. Results We found that individuals’ insights were embodied in repetitive day-to-day activities (e.g. cleaning and cooking). Three key themes emerged (1) Stimulative Effects, (2) Contextual Conditions, and (3) Risk Attitudes. Sensory perceptions such as sight, smell and temperature primarily motivated participants to assess air quality inside their homes. These perceptions were shaped by contextual conditions, influencing how individuals perceived their health risk and were subsequently motivated to spend personal time considering or seeking information about household air pollution, or improving their home air quality. Conclusions Our insights revealed that social, geographical, and contextual factors play a crucial role in individuals’ understandings of indoor air pollution. These dimensions should be integrated into designs of effective public health risk communication strategies. Our findings highlight that common lay perceptions and practices intended to improve air quality may pose health risks. Therefore, risk communication about household air pollution must extend beyond objective information by considering contextual factors that shape how people interpret and respond to air quality issues. Clinical trial number Not applicable.
Related Links	https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s12889-024-20635-1.pdf
Ending Page	14
Page Count	14
Starting Page	1
File Format	HTM / HTML
ISSN	14712458
DOI	10.1186/s12889-024-20635-1
Journal	BMC Public Health
Issue Number	1
Volume Number	24
Language	English
Publisher	BioMed Central
Publisher Date	2024-11-14
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Public Health Medicine Epidemiology Biostatistics Vaccine Environmental Health Indoor air pollution Indoor air quality Household air pollution Sensory perception Air pollution health risk Health disparities Medicine/Public Health
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Journal Impact Factor	3.5/2023
5-Year Journal Impact Factor	3.9/2023

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

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