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Perceptions of Health Risks from Hot Weather, and Coping Behaviors among Ethnic Minority Groups in Mountain Areas of China: A Case Study in the Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture

Limited research focuses on risk perceptions of hot weather among ethnic minority groups in remote mountain areas of China. Adopting a multi-stage sampling method, this study received completed questionnaires from 643 participates in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of China in 2017 and 20...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Ye, Hui, Ma, Juan, Wu, Yang, Zhang, Ying
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6266458/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30413074
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112498
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author Ye, Hui
Ma, Juan
Wu, Yang
Zhang, Ying
author_facet Ye, Hui
Ma, Juan
Wu, Yang
Zhang, Ying
author_sort Ye, Hui
collection PubMed
description Limited research focuses on risk perceptions of hot weather among ethnic minority groups in remote mountain areas of China. Adopting a multi-stage sampling method, this study received completed questionnaires from 643 participates in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of China in 2017 and 2018. We used multivariate logistic regression models to explore the factors affecting risk perceptions and coping behaviors with regards to hot weather. Results showed that despite a relatively high level of risk perception, the study population in the mountain areas of China had a very low level of preparedness in responding to the risks from heat, and a lack of professional health knowledge in general. In particular, 61.3% (95% CI: 57.1%−5.6%) of the participants felt increasing temperatures in recent years, 73.2% (95% CI: 69.3%−7.0%) thought extreme high temperatures would be a health threat, and 61.3% (95% CI: 57.1%−5.4%) reported physical discomfort during hot weather. However, only 12% (95% CI: 9.5%−4.5%) had the information or knowledge to stay healthy during the extreme high temperatures, and only 24.2% had (95% CI: 20.8%−7.6%) preparation. The logistic regression models suggested that ethnic group, health status, marital status, gender, and employment could affect their perceptions, which could significantly affect the adoption of coping behaviors. In conclusion, our findings have significant implications for developing policies and health education and promotion programs for ethnic minorities in remote regions to maintain good health during hot weather.
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spelling pubmed-62664582018-12-15 Perceptions of Health Risks from Hot Weather, and Coping Behaviors among Ethnic Minority Groups in Mountain Areas of China: A Case Study in the Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Ye, Hui Ma, Juan Wu, Yang Zhang, Ying Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Limited research focuses on risk perceptions of hot weather among ethnic minority groups in remote mountain areas of China. Adopting a multi-stage sampling method, this study received completed questionnaires from 643 participates in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of China in 2017 and 2018. We used multivariate logistic regression models to explore the factors affecting risk perceptions and coping behaviors with regards to hot weather. Results showed that despite a relatively high level of risk perception, the study population in the mountain areas of China had a very low level of preparedness in responding to the risks from heat, and a lack of professional health knowledge in general. In particular, 61.3% (95% CI: 57.1%−5.6%) of the participants felt increasing temperatures in recent years, 73.2% (95% CI: 69.3%−7.0%) thought extreme high temperatures would be a health threat, and 61.3% (95% CI: 57.1%−5.4%) reported physical discomfort during hot weather. However, only 12% (95% CI: 9.5%−4.5%) had the information or knowledge to stay healthy during the extreme high temperatures, and only 24.2% had (95% CI: 20.8%−7.6%) preparation. The logistic regression models suggested that ethnic group, health status, marital status, gender, and employment could affect their perceptions, which could significantly affect the adoption of coping behaviors. In conclusion, our findings have significant implications for developing policies and health education and promotion programs for ethnic minorities in remote regions to maintain good health during hot weather. MDPI 2018-11-08 2018-11 /pmc/articles/PMC6266458/ /pubmed/30413074 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112498 Text en © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Ye, Hui
Ma, Juan
Wu, Yang
Zhang, Ying
Perceptions of Health Risks from Hot Weather, and Coping Behaviors among Ethnic Minority Groups in Mountain Areas of China: A Case Study in the Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
title Perceptions of Health Risks from Hot Weather, and Coping Behaviors among Ethnic Minority Groups in Mountain Areas of China: A Case Study in the Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
title_full Perceptions of Health Risks from Hot Weather, and Coping Behaviors among Ethnic Minority Groups in Mountain Areas of China: A Case Study in the Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
title_fullStr Perceptions of Health Risks from Hot Weather, and Coping Behaviors among Ethnic Minority Groups in Mountain Areas of China: A Case Study in the Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
title_full_unstemmed Perceptions of Health Risks from Hot Weather, and Coping Behaviors among Ethnic Minority Groups in Mountain Areas of China: A Case Study in the Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
title_short Perceptions of Health Risks from Hot Weather, and Coping Behaviors among Ethnic Minority Groups in Mountain Areas of China: A Case Study in the Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture
title_sort perceptions of health risks from hot weather, and coping behaviors among ethnic minority groups in mountain areas of china: a case study in the tujia and miao autonomous prefecture
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6266458/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30413074
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112498
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