Predictive Factors of Preventive Behavior of PM2.5 Exposures among Elderly in Samut Prakan Province

Abstract

This cross-sectional analytical study aimed to examine the level of preventive behaviors against PM_2.5 exposure and to identify predictive factors among elderly. A total of 464 elderly residing in areas with PM_2.5 levels exceeding the national standard in Samut Prakan Province, selected using multistage random sampling. Data were collected using structured interviews covering seven components: personal characteristics, Knowledge of PM_2.5 prevention, attitude toward PM_2.5 prevention, perception of risk and PM_2.5 prevention, access to information on PM_2.5 prevention, environmental factors, and PM_2.5 preventive behavior. The item-objective congruence ranging from 0.81 to 1.00 and The reliability coefficients of the questionnaire were as follows: knowledge of PM_2.5 prevention was 0.80, attitude toward PM_2.5 prevention was 0.86, perception of risk and PM_2.5 prevention was 0.83, access to information on PM_2.5 prevention was 0.85, and PM_2.5 preventive behavior was 0.82. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that the majority of participants (75.20%) exhibited a high level of preventive behaviors against PM_2.5 Factors significantly associated with preventive behaviors included gender, age, income, educational level, chronic illness, attitudes, risk perception, health information exposure, and duration of outdoor activities. Significant predictors of PM_2.5 preventive behaviors were presence of chronic illness (b=0.901, p=0.032), attitudes (b=0.170, p<0.001), risk perception (b=0.118, p<0.012), and health information exposure (b=0.707, p<0.001), jointly explaining 41.70% of the variance (R²=0.417, p=0.032). The findings of this study highlight the importance of having chronic diseases among the elderly, which reflects better self-protective behaviors, as well as the promotion of positive attitudes, risk perception, and access to health information among elderly. Therefore, evidence can be utilized to inform policies and develop community-based strategies for sustainable PM_2.5 prevention.