Improving Knowledge about Children’s Environmental Health in Northwest China

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Jingping Niu¹  Qingshan Qu³  Juansheng Li¹  Xingrong Liu¹  Benzhong Zhang¹  Zhilan Li¹  Guowu Ding¹  Yingbiao Sun¹  Yanrong Shi¹  Yaxiong Wan¹  Xiaobin Hu¹  Lung-Chi Chen³  Alan Mendelsohn²  Yu Chen¹  Leonardo Trasande³  Helena Solo-Gabriele⁴ 

[1] Departments of Environmental Medicine, Lanzhou University School of Public Health, 199 Donggang Xi Lu, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China;Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine/Bellevue Hospital Center, New York, NY 10016, USA;Department of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine, 227 East 30th Street, Rm 735, New York, NY 10016, USA;;Departments of Environmental Medicine, Lanzhou University School of Public Health, 199 Donggang Xi Lu, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China

关键词: children’s environmental health;    policy making;    air pollution;    educational intervention;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph13010080

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The main purpose of this study was to identify policy maker opinions and attitudes towards children’s environmental health (CEH), potential barriers to child-specific protective legislation and implementation in northwest China, and evaluate knowledge and attitudes about CEH before and after an educational conference. We conducted seventy-two interviews with regional officials, researchers and non-governmental organization representatives from five provinces, and surveyed participants (forty-seven) before and after an educational conference in northwest China about CEH. Interviews identified general consensus among participants of the adverse effects of air pollution on children, yet few participants knew of policies to protect them. Barriers identified included limited funding and enforcement, weak regional governments and absence of child-specific policy-making. After the conference, substantially greater self-efficacy was identified for lead, mercury, air pollution and polychlorinated biphenyls (+0.57–0.72 on a 1–5 Likert scale, p = 0.002–0.013), and the scientific knowledge for the role of environment in children’s health (+0.58, p = 0.015), and health care provider control (+0.52, p = 0.025) were rated more strongly. We conclude that policy makers in Northwest China appreciate that children are uniquely vulnerable, though additional regulations are needed to account for that vulnerability. Further research should examine effectiveness of the intervention on a larger scale and scope, and evaluate the usefulness of such interventions in translating research into improved care/reduced exposure to environmental hazards.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.