Version 1
: Received: 5 September 2023 / Approved: 6 September 2023 / Online: 6 September 2023 (03:52:57 CEST)
How to cite:
Agibayeva, A.; Tleuken, A.; Karaca, F.; Avcu, E.; Guney, M. Understanding Public Perception of Air Quality in Emerging Economies: An Empirical Assessment Using Structural Equation Modeling. Preprints2023, 2023090362. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.0362.v1
Agibayeva, A.; Tleuken, A.; Karaca, F.; Avcu, E.; Guney, M. Understanding Public Perception of Air Quality in Emerging Economies: An Empirical Assessment Using Structural Equation Modeling. Preprints 2023, 2023090362. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.0362.v1
Agibayeva, A.; Tleuken, A.; Karaca, F.; Avcu, E.; Guney, M. Understanding Public Perception of Air Quality in Emerging Economies: An Empirical Assessment Using Structural Equation Modeling. Preprints2023, 2023090362. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.0362.v1
APA Style
Agibayeva, A., Tleuken, A., Karaca, F., Avcu, E., & Guney, M. (2023). Understanding Public Perception of Air Quality in Emerging Economies: An Empirical Assessment Using Structural Equation Modeling. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.0362.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Agibayeva, A., Egemen Avcu and Mert Guney. 2023 "Understanding Public Perception of Air Quality in Emerging Economies: An Empirical Assessment Using Structural Equation Modeling" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202309.0362.v1
Abstract
Despite air pollution being a leading cause of health issues in developing nations, public awareness and understanding of local air quality remains notably low. The present study assesses the perception, attitude, and environmental knowledge of local air pollution among adult urban residents (n=870) in a city with leading air pollution rates among cities of emerging economies: Astana, Kazakhstan. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to investigate the causal relationship between perceived air quality, environmental literacy, and willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental protection. Findings indicate over 40% of residents neither consider the city being highly polluted nor recognize the association between air quality and adverse health outcomes, correlated with a generally low level of environmental literacy. The age, education, and health status of the participants significantly affected (p<.001) their level of environmental knowledge and awareness. The SEM analysis indicates that knowledge is the major determinant in improving public awareness and perception of local air pollution (path value=0.626). Moreover, a close association between WTP and environmental attitude was also evident (path value=0.533). The findings of the present study may provide valuable insights for healthcare professionals, environmental researchers, and governmental institutions for implementing more effective public interventions to protect local air quality.
Keywords
ambient air pollutants; community health; environmental health literacy; knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP); multivariate analysis
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Pollution
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
