Survey on Residents' Individual Adaptive Behaviors in Coping with Air Pollution in Five Cities/Counties of Liaoning Province

Objective  To investigate the adaptive behaviors in coping with air pollution among residents in Liaoning Province.

Methods  By multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method, 1 278 residents over 18 years old in Liaoning Province were enrolled to answer a self-designed questionnaire.

Results  A total of 1 101 participants with an average age of 41.63± 12.23 years returned valid questionnaires (86.13%): 444 from urban areas and 657 from rural areas; 514 males and 587 females. Of them, 51.50% answered they would take adaptive behaviors against severe air pollution, and the proportions of residents in creasing personal cleaning frequency, staying at home, closing windows, and wearing respiratory protectors were 33.88%, 24.98%, 24.98%, and 17.35%, respectively. Urban, female, and younger residents took more individual adaptive behaviors (all Ps < 0.001).

Conclusion  It is not prevalent among the residents over 18 years old in Liaoning Province to take individual adaptive behaviors frequently to cope with severe air pollution.