Irfan Omar, Dhillon Rubaid Azhar, Qamar Mohammad Aadil, Soomar Salman Muhammad, Manzoor Kainat, Rizwan Wajiha, Ali Hani Zarbaft, Arshad Zara, Khan Javaid Ahmed
Medicine, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, PAK.
Medicine, Riphah International University, Rawalpindi, PAK.
Cureus. 2024 Jul 4;16(7):e63838. doi: 10.7759/cureus.63838. eCollection 2024 Jul.
Climate change (CC) persists as a critical public health concern, vividly demonstrated by Pakistan's severe unprecedented flooding from June to October 2022. The interplay between floods and CC highlights the urgent need to comprehend their complex dynamics. Given Pakistan's significant geographical vulnerability to CC events, assessing public awareness of CC becomes essential. This study aims to evaluate public knowledge, attitudes, and perception (KAP) regarding CC and its implications for overall health, reflecting onto governmental policies and community-based guidelines and enhancing preparedness for future natural calamities of similar magnitude.
A nationwide cross-sectional survey of Pakistani adults covering all provinces of the country was conducted from January to March 2023 using a prevalidated questionnaire. A purposive sampling strategy was used to enroll participants in the study. Where appropriate, the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used to compare KAP among the sociodemographic groups. Multivariate analysis was used to explore predictors of knowledge. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were calculated considering a p value of ≤0.05 as significant.
Among the 714 respondents, 265 (37.1%) of the respondents' residential areas were affected by the floods in Pakistan. A total of 663 (92.9%) of the participants had heard of CC, with 302 (42.3%) choosing "social media/WhatsApp" as their source of information. Increased flooding and changes in rainfall patterns were selected by 679 (95.1%) and 661 (92.6%) participants, respectively, as the most recognized CC. "Deforestation" was the most indicated reason for CC by 675 (94.5%) participants. Multivariate analysis revealed that females (OR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.16-2.00; p < 0.001), individuals who were affected by recent floods (OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.05-3.34; p = 0.003), and individuals who were medical students/healthcare workers (OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.24-2.48; p < 0.001) had greater knowledge of CC than their counterparts.
The study reported an encouraging prevalence of knowledge of CC, positive attitudes, and practices toward CC, with an interest in learning and doing more to address the health effects of CC. With the ongoing global CC and a monsoon season forecast of similar intensity for the years to come in Pakistan, identifying groups with less knowledge of CC warrants a targeted education program to maximize awareness. Based on the study findings, social media platforms and interventions in educational institutes should be essential to mitigate the CC events in Pakistan and other vulnerable regions in the area.
气候变化仍然是一个关键的公共卫生问题，2022年6月至10月巴基斯坦前所未有的严重洪灾就生动地证明了这一点。洪水与气候变化之间的相互作用凸显了理解其复杂动态的迫切需要。鉴于巴基斯坦在地理上极易受到气候变化事件的影响，评估公众对气候变化的认识变得至关重要。本研究旨在评估公众对气候变化及其对整体健康影响的知识、态度和认知（KAP），为政府政策和社区指南提供参考，并加强对未来类似规模自然灾害的应对准备。
2023年1月至3月，使用经过预验证的问卷对巴基斯坦所有省份的成年人进行了全国性横断面调查。采用目的抽样策略招募研究参与者。在适当情况下，使用卡方检验或费舍尔精确检验比较社会人口学群体之间的KAP。采用多变量分析来探索知识的预测因素。计算粗比值比（OR）和调整后的比值比，将p值≤0.05视为具有统计学意义。
在714名受访者中，265名（37.1%）受访者的居住地区受到了巴基斯坦洪水的影响。共有663名（92.9%）参与者听说过气候变化，其中302名（42.3%）选择“社交媒体/WhatsApp”作为他们的信息来源。分别有679名（95.1%）和661名（92.6%）参与者将洪水增加和降雨模式变化选为最认可的气候变化表现。675名（94.5%）参与者指出“森林砍伐”是气候变化的最主要原因。多变量分析显示，女性（OR：1.31，95%CI：1.16 - 2.00；p < 0.001）、近期受洪水影响的个体（OR：1.13，95%CI：1.05 - 3.34；p = 0.003）以及医学生/医护人员（OR：1.49，95%CI：1.24 - 2.48；p < 0.001）对气候变化的了解比其他人更多。
该研究报告称，公众对气候变化的了解、积极态度和应对做法的普及程度令人鼓舞，他们有兴趣学习并采取更多行动来应对气候变化对健康的影响。鉴于全球气候变化仍在持续，且预计未来几年巴基斯坦的季风季节强度类似，确定对气候变化了解较少的群体并开展有针对性的教育项目以提高认识非常必要。根据研究结果，社交媒体平台和教育机构的干预措施对于减轻巴基斯坦及该地区其他脆弱地区的气候变化影响至关重要。
