Health Impacts from Air Pollution in Border Community of Thailand-Myanmar
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Introduction: Health impacts from air pollution are a major health challenge for people living in border areas in northern Thailand particularly those who live in Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai. The study aimed to assess the health impacts of air pollution among people living in the border community of Thailand–Myanmar.
Methods: The mixed-method study was applied to collect data from selected people living in Wiang Phang Kham sub-district, Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai Province. Data were collected by a validated questionnaire, in-depth interview, and group discussion between August 2022 to March 2023.
Results: A total of 404 participants were randomly selected for the study in the quantitative phase. At the individual level, difficulty in breathing, chest tightness, and conjunctivitis, especially in the elderly were reported. Stress and anxiety from lack of income were detected. Moreover, being unable to work was the majority of issues reported among the working-age. A large number of people who had health problems related to poor air pollution were reported. Finally, non-effective policies implemented indirectly affect people’s health. Avoiding outdoor activities, trade, and agriculture were immediately effective measures.
Conclusion: Poor air pollution impacts directly on those people suffering from health, especially among patients related to respiratory diseases including children and the elderly. It urgently needs national and international collaboration to improve poor air quality in northern Thailand.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
JHSAM publishes all articles in full open access, meaning unlimited use and reuse of articles with appropriate credit to the authors.
All our articles are published under a Creative Commons "CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0". License which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium,
provided that the original work is properly cited and is used for noncommercial purposes.
References
Division of Occupational and Environmental Diseases. Surveillance of health effects from smog problems for public health personnel guideline. (Revised version 2018). 2018; 1, 13-19.
Simachaya W. Haze pollution in the northern region: problems and approaches. Available from https://www.pcd.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/pcdnew-2020-06-05_07-33-31_040770.pdf
Kanyamun P, Chaichana K, Tortakul B, Muenmoonkat W, Chansareewittaya K. Assessment of knowledge and practice of self-protective behavior from particulate matter 2.5 among the people in Koh Chang sub-district, Mae Sai district, Chiang Rai. The 15th RSU National Graduate Research Conference. 2020; 15(2563), 2903-2913.
Pollution Control Department. Air quality in the area of Wiang Phang Kham Subdistrict, Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai Province, year 2023. Available from: http://air4thai.pcd.go.th/webV3/#/History
Kumtrai D. ASEAN transboundary haze pollution and the resolution of Thai local administrative regulation. CMU Journal of Law and Social Sciences. 2018; 11(1), 87-109.
Krejcie RV, Morgan DW. Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement. 1970; 30(3), 607–610. DOI: 10.1177/001316447003000308
McLeroy KR, Bibeau D, Steckler A, Glanz K. An ecological perspective on health promotion programs. Health Education Quarterly. 1988; 15(4), 351-377.
Bowman D. M.J.S., Johnston F. H. Wildfire smoke, fire management, and human health. Eco Health. 2005; 2, 76-80. DOI: 10.1007/s10393-004-0149-8
Mikhun P. Haze pollution: vulnerability and social impact at the household level. Journal of MCU Social Science Review. 2021; 10(1), 78-91.
Emergency Operation Center. Guidelines for the implementation of medical and public health in the case of particulate matter measuring no more than 2.5-micron (PM2.5) 2021. Available from: https://hia.anamai.moph.go.th/web-upload/12xb1c83353535e43f224a05e184d8fd75a/m_magazine/35644/2920/file_download/96e5c50a7a65855da35267ce3937ae26.pdf Accessed June 29, 2023.
Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Third national environmental health strategic plan 2017-2021. Available from: https://backenddc.anamai.moph.go.th/coverpage/83b770b6761c0e6b5768beb11afcac45.pdf
Pollution Control Department. National Master Plan for Open Burning Control. Available from https://www.pcd.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/pcdnew-2020-04-23_05-20-23_362589.pdf
Harnkiattiwong T. Community participation in tackling air pollution in Chiang Mai Province. Kasem Bundit Journal. 2018; 19(March), 229-241.
Junta N, Bejranonda S. Evaluating the health impact caused by haze in Chiang Mai Province. Proceedings of the 13th KU-KPS Conference. 2016; 13, 1164-1174.
Namcome T, Tansuchat R. The impact of fine particulate matter (pm 2.5) pollution on the number of foreign tourists in Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Rajabhat Chiang Mai Research Journal. 2021; 22(3), 19-35.