Clearing the air: Assessing healthcare professionals' awareness of air pollution's health consequences

Air pollution (AP) significantly jeopardises health, with the Royal College of Physicians accepting the adverse effects of AP are not being sufficiently communicated to patients by healthcare professionals (HCP). To explore HCPs' understanding and attitudes toward AP and its health impacts, we conducted a service evaluation survey in a group of hospital doctors.A questionnaire comprising 20 questions about AP and its health associations was completed by 133 hospital doctors working at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, UK.While 65% ( = 86) of respondents strongly agreed that AP is relevant to health, 79% ( 105) felt insufficiently trained on AP and its health associations.The survey shows that HCPs' knowledge of AP and its connection to poor health is a major barrier in discussions with patients. Further research is needed to understand whether these views are nationally shared among HCPs and to explore the most effective strategies for enhancing AP awareness.

空气污染（AP）严重危害健康，英国皇家内科医师学会承认医疗专业人员（HCP）没有充分地向患者传达空气污染的不良影响。为了探究医疗专业人员对空气污染及其健康影响的理解和态度，我们在一组医院医生中进行了一项服务评估调查。英国南安普敦大学医院国民保健服务基金会信托机构的133名医院医生完成了一份包含20个关于空气污染及其与健康关联问题的调查问卷。虽然65%（=86人）的受访者强烈认同空气污染与健康相关，但79%（105人）觉得在空气污染及其与健康的关联方面所受培训不足。调查显示，医疗专业人员对空气污染及其与不良健康状况的联系的了解是与患者讨论时的一个主要障碍。需要进一步研究以了解这些观点是否在全国的医疗专业人员中普遍存在，并探索提高空气污染意识的最有效策略。