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. 2020 Mar 2;17(5):1613.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17051613.

The Effects of Risk Perceptions Related to Particulate Matter on Outdoor Activity Satisfaction in South Korea

Bomi Kim  1 , Eun Joo Yoon  2 , Songyi Kim  3 , Dong Kun Lee  4
Affiliations

The Effects of Risk Perceptions Related to Particulate Matter on Outdoor Activity Satisfaction in South Korea

Bomi Kim et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

In recent years, the Korean public has become aware of the form of air pollution known as particulate matter, with a consequent growth of public anxiety causing a negative risk perception about outdoor activity. This study aims at determining the causal relationship between risk perceptions about particulate matter and outdoor activity satisfaction in South Korea. An Internet survey was conducted with 412 people, and a structural equation model was used to perform confirmatory factor analysis. The statistically significant results show that the perceived risk of particulate matter is higher when people do not show interest in or trust public opinion or policy on the subject. This increases people's perceptions of health risks, which in turn lowers their satisfaction with outdoor activity. Although trust levels in public opinion or policy had a positive impact on outdoor activity satisfaction, this was not statistically significant. These results are expected to contribute to risk communication guidelines in public opinion reporting and to the direction of environmental health policies in developing countries with high levels of air pollution, such as particulate matter.

Keywords: PM10; PM2.5; South Korea; air pollution; outdoor activities satisfaction scale (OASS); structural equation model (SEM).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Research model. POP: public opinion or policy; PM: particulate matter; OAS: outdoor activity satisfaction.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Results of the structural equation model.** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. X2/DF = 1.949 (p = 0.000), GFI = 0.961, CFI =0.979, IFI = 0.979, AGFI = 0.933, RMSEA = 0.048. POP: public opinion or policy; PM: particulate matter; OAS: outdoor activity satisfaction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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