Im Hyoung-June, Kwon Ho-Jang, Ha Mina, Lee Sang Gyu, Hwang Seung-Sik, Ha Eun Hee, Cho Soo-Hun
Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital Department of Occupational Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine.
J Prev Med Public Health. 2006 May;39(3):205-12.
In spite of the recent increased concern for Asian dust storms, there are few studies concerning how dangerous the general public recognizes these dust storms to be. This study examined the public's perceptions of the risk of the Asian dust storms and also the source of the information concerning the risk.
A telephone interview survey using a standardized questionnaire was done for the adults living in Seoul and its metropolitan area from May 15th, 2003 to May 16th, 2003. The contents of the questionnaire were the sociodemographic characteristics, the perceptions of risk to the Asian dust storms, and the coping strategy of the study participants.
The study participants get their information on Asian dust storms mainly from TV newscasts and they have a good knowledge of them. They regard it as one of the most dangerous health risks, along with dioxin. They think that it is associated with allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis and bronchial asthma, etc. Of the 500 study participants, 201(40.2%) persons suffered bodily discomforts during the Asian dust storm period.
Although there are uncertainties about the health risks of Asian dust storms, the public thinks these dust storms are very dangerous to health in many ways. This negative perception will not disappear easily. To fill the gap of the public's perceptions of the risk and the objective evidence of its health effects, more studies about its health effects and the methods to reduce exposure are required.
尽管近期人们对亚洲沙尘暴的关注度有所提高，但关于公众认为这些沙尘暴有多危险的研究却很少。本研究调查了公众对亚洲沙尘暴风险的认知以及有关该风险的信息来源。
于2003年5月15日至2003年5月16日，使用标准化问卷对居住在首尔及其大都市区的成年人进行了电话访谈调查。问卷内容包括社会人口统计学特征、对亚洲沙尘暴风险的认知以及研究参与者的应对策略。
研究参与者获取亚洲沙尘暴信息的主要来源是电视新闻报道，并且他们对其有较好的了解。他们将其视为与二恶英一样最危险的健康风险之一。他们认为它与过敏性鼻炎、结膜炎和支气管哮喘等有关。在500名研究参与者中，有201人（40.2%）在亚洲沙尘暴期间身体不适。
尽管亚洲沙尘暴对健康的风险存在不确定性，但公众认为这些沙尘暴在许多方面对健康非常危险。这种负面认知不会轻易消失。为了填补公众对风险认知与健康影响客观证据之间的差距，需要更多关于其健康影响以及减少暴露方法的研究。
