Clearing the air: Assessing healthcare professionals' awareness of air pollution's health consequences

Abstract

Air pollution (AP) significantly jeopardises health, with the Royal College of Physicians accepting the adverse effects of AP are not being sufficiently communicated to patients by healthcare professionals (HCP). To explore HCPs' understanding and attitudes toward AP and its health impacts, we conducted a service evaluation survey in a group of hospital doctors.A questionnaire comprising 20 questions about AP and its health associations was completed by 133 hospital doctors working at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, UK.While 65% (n = 86) of respondents strongly agreed that AP is relevant to health, 79% (n = 105) felt insufficiently trained on AP and its health associations.The survey shows that HCPs' knowledge of AP and its connection to poor health is a major barrier in discussions with patients. Further research is needed to understand whether these views are nationally shared among HCPs and to explore the most effective strategies for enhancing AP awareness.

Keywords

• Air pollution
• Air quality
• Physicians
• Learning health systems
• Environmental health