Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA; Institute for Water and Health, Georgia Southern University, 925 Mohawk Street, Savannah, GA, 31419, USA E-mail:
Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA; Institute for Water and Health, Georgia Southern University, 925 Mohawk Street, Savannah, GA, 31419, USA.
J Water Health. 2024 Mar;22(3):565-571. doi: 10.2166/wh.2024.306. Epub 2024 Feb 14.
Drawing on responses from 238 beachgoers who have visited a Georgia (U.S. state) beach in the past three years, this study asks respondents about their knowledge of beach water quality monitoring, awareness of beach health advisories, perception of water quality, and expected responses upon learning of a beach's water pollution advisory. Binomial logistic regression finds that the only demographic predictor of respondents who would completely stop visiting a beach with an advisory is whether the respondent is a visitor or resident (year-round or part-time). Nearly 40% of visitors would not come to a beach with an advisory compared to 13.4% of residents. Most respondents report they would continue to visit a beach but would stay out of the water and stop harvesting seafood from the beach's waters. More than a third (36.1%), however, are unaware Georgia regularly monitors beach water for water quality, and 41.2% have never read a beach sign warning of contaminated water or seafood. Alarmingly, just over half view aesthetic factors such as no litter, no odor, and clear water as criteria for defining whether beach water is safe.
本研究以过去三年曾去过佐治亚州（美国州名）海滩的 238 名海滩游客的回复为基础，询问了受访者有关海滩水质监测、海滩健康警告的了解程度、对水质的看法，以及在得知海滩水污染警告时的预期反应。二项逻辑回归发现，唯一能预测出受访者在有警告的情况下是否会完全停止去海滩的人口统计学因素是受访者是游客还是居民（全年或兼职）。近 40%的游客不会去有警告的海滩，而居民中只有 13.4%的人会这样做。大多数受访者表示，他们仍会去海滩，但会远离水域，停止从海滩水域捕捞海鲜。然而，超过三分之一（36.1%）的人不知道佐治亚州定期监测海滩水质，41.2%的人从未阅读过警告受污染水或海鲜的海滩标志。令人震惊的是，只有略多于一半的人认为无垃圾、无异味和水清澈等美观因素是判断海滩水是否安全的标准。
