1. RESULTS
The sample comprised 97 respondents (42.3% male; 57.7% female) with a
mean age of 17. While 88.7% of respondents indicated that vehicular emissions
could have a major impact on their health, 7.2% thought otherwise.
Figure 2
PIE CHARTS SHOWING THE PERCEIVED SUSCEPTIBILITY OF
(A) Of the 88.7% who indicated that vehicular emissions could have a major
impact on their health, 82% thought their chance of contracting emission-
related illnesses was inevitable, strong or moderate. ‘Moderate chance’
represented the greatest portion of these respondents. Only 18% of these
participants thought that their chance was little or non-existent.
(B) Of the 7.2% of respondents who did not think that vehicular emissions could
have a major impact on their health, 86% thought they had little chance of
contracting emission-related illnesses, while 14% thought that they had no
chance. It should be noted that none of these participants believed that their
chance of contracting illnesses from exposure to vehicular emissions was
inevitable, strong or moderate.
Figure 3
This chart gives an indication of the sources of information which would impact
their awareness and perceived severity.
This chart illustrates the popularity of sources of information on emission-
related health issues versus the level of trust in those sources. These were, in
order of popularity, ‘School/Teachers’, ‘Media’, ‘Specialised Websites’, ‘Social
Media’, ‘Family/Friends’, and finally, ‘Family Doctor’.
‘School/Teachers’, which received 71.9% of votes, was the most used source,
but was trusted by 53.6%. 64.9% of persons had confidence in their ‘Family
Doctor’ as a source of information. Interestingly, only 29.2% of the participants
actually obtained their information from their family doctor, making it the least
popular yet most trusted source.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Overall, perceived severity among respondents was considerably high whereas
perceived susceptibility was moderate to low.
All persons who did not believe that exposure to vehicular emissions could have a
major impact on their health also did not believe that they were susceptible to
illnesses related to such exposure. These individuals may not be aware of the
possible health concerns associated with exposure to vehicular emissions and as
such may not fully understand the risk of exposure. The majority of persons who
had high levels of perceived severity also thought themselves susceptible to
emission-related illnesses. However, a small minority still did not believe they
were susceptible although they believed that exposure to vehicular emissions
could have a major impact on their health. This perception may have been due to
a lack of evidence of the health effects related to exposure in their immediate
surroundings.
The most common source of information among respondents was
School/Teachers followed by Media whereas, the most trusted sources were
Family doctor and Specialised Websites. Interestingly, the most trusted source
(Family doctor) was the least popular among respondents. Information from the
two most trusted sources must be ‘sought out’, and may account for the small
percentage of persons receiving information from these sources.
Respondents may not have trusted their main source of information, which
possibly resulted in them discounting whatever they receive. This may have
contributed to persons’ lack of perceived susceptibility despite their understanding
of the severity.
The data obtained supported the hypothesis, as a positive correlation was
observed between high levels of perceived severity and high levels of perceived
susceptibility.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Since severity and susceptibility are key drivers of health behaviours,
opportunities to provide information from trusted sources (doctors), to increase
perceived severity and susceptibility must be pursued. Doctors would be helpful in
this regard and by having physicians attend schools, barriers to access would be
reduced.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
•Access was restricted for many article with only abstracts available.
•This topic was not fully investigated in Trinidad and Tobago and as such relevant
information was not readily available.
•The lack of recent census data available for Trinidad and Tobago resulted in the
estimation of the sample size. This may have caused it to not be well
representative of the population.
REFERENCES
1. A report of the renewable energy committee. (n.d.). Framework for
development of a renewable energy policy for Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved
July 25, 2012, from http://energy.gov.tt/content/266.pdf
2. Central America and Caribbean : Trinidad and Tobago. (2012, July 5). CIA- the
world factbook. Retrieved July 25, 2012, from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/td.html
3. Hayden, J. (2009). Health Belief Model. Introduction to health behavior theory
(pp. 31-36). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
4. Leod-Goodridge, N. M. (2012, February 27). Awareness of nutrition related
issues of breast cancer in the general public. Apache tomcat. Retrieved
August 8, 2012, from http://uwispace.sta.uwi.edu/dspace/handle/2139/11776
5. Smith, V. (2012, March 29). Association between the use of mass media and
health behaviour: an evaluation of the health belief model in explaining dengue
fever. Apache tomcat. Retrieved July 31, 2012, from
http://uwispace.sta.uwi.edu/dspace/handle/2139/12561
VEHICULAR EMISSIONS AND THE HEALTH BELIEF MODEL
METHODOLOGY
The frame work for this project followed that of the health belief model (HBM) widely
utilized in the health sector to elucidate and predict health related behaviour from
certain patterns or beliefs. While the model consists of six (6) postulates (as shown
below in Figure 1) this research study emphasised two, namely perceived severity and
perceived susceptibility and the relationship between these two as it pertains to health
concerns associated with vehicular emissions.
Figure 1 CONCEPTUAL HEALTH BELIEF MODEL (HBM)
Questionnaires were used as the primary data collection tool and were developed
using the online survey resource, ‘Survey Monkey’ so as to ensure the anonymity of
the participants. The survey was developed by the research team and finalised by
research supervisors at The Cropper Foundation. The questionnaire was pre-tested
with a small sample of respondents, and the necessary amendments made, prior to
distribution.
The questionnaires were distributed to general Facebook users in various forums and
networks. Only Trinidad and Tobago nationals between 16 to 19 years of age, able to
respond via Facebook, were eligible to participate in the study. Facebook was
selected as the medium due to its high internet penetration. A total of 97 individuals
responded to the survey at which point the survey was closed since the sample was
considered to be representative of the general population.
The questionnaire contained 10 questions, designed with specific reference to
‘perceived severity’ and ‘perceived susceptibility’ (as defined in the HBM).
All data collected were stored and analysed using Survey Monkey.
INTRODUCTION
Trinidad and Tobago has a great wealth of oil and natural gas reserves and is the
leading Caribbean producer of these resources. With the country’s gas consumption
at more than half the total gas production (world factbook 2010 est.), due to the
subsidized cost of hydrocarbons for transportation, and the steady increase in the
purchase of gasoline and diesel fuelled vehicles, there is an inherent concern for high
levels of vehicular emissions.
Data indicates that there has been a trend of rural to urban migration, and with limited
attempts at the decentralization of services in Trinidad and Tobago, there has been
increasing traffic congestion in and around the major cities and urban areas.
Since its inception in 2000, the Cropper Foundation has acted as a framework
mechanism for networking people, dialogue and resources across various sectors of
society for the public good. It has influenced, participated in and contributed to
sustainable development policy and practice locally, regionally and globally.
HYPOTHESIS
Persons who perceived illnesses related to vehicle emissions as severe, also
indicated that they considered themselves highly susceptible to such illnesses.
Jheuel Carter-Guy and Karishma Harrilal-Maharaj
Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health; UWI, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Trinidad & Tobago
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
percentageofpersons
source
POPULARITY OF SOURCES VS. LEVEL OF TRUST IN THOSE SOURCES
popularity
of source
level of trust
in source
5%
15%
62%
17%
1%
(A) PERSONS WHO BELIEVED THAT VEHICULAR
EMISSIONS COULD HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON THEIR
HEALTH
Inevitable
Strong chance
Moderate chance
Little chance
No chance
0% 0%0%
86%
14%
(B) PERSONS WHO BELIEVED THAT VEHICULAR
EMISSIONS COULD NOT HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON
THEIR HEALTH
Inevitable
Strong chance
Moderate chance
Little chance
No chance