Weather Information Acquisition and Health Significance during Extreme Cold Weather in a Subtropical City:A Crosssectional Survey in Hong Kong

Health and disaster risk reduction are important and necessary components in building a smart city,especially when climate change may increase the frequency of extreme temperatures and the health risks of urban dwellers.However,limited knowledge is available about the best way to disseminate weather warnings and health protection information.This study explores the weather information acquisition patterns of the Hong Kong public and examines the sociodemographic predictors of these patterns to establish the potential public health implications of smart city development.A population-based,stratified crosssectional,random digit dialing telephone survey was conducted among the Cantonese-speaking population aged over 15 years in Hong Kong in early 2016.Analyses were conducted based on 1017 valid samples,with a response rate of 63.6%.Cold Weather Warnings were well disseminated in Hong Kong,with 95.7% of the respondents reporting awareness of the public warnings.Television and smartphone apps were the two most important channels for weather information acquisition.Age and education level are the main social-demographic variables associated with the current utilization and future preference of smartphone technology.Among those who were not using a preferredchannel to acquire weather information,61.3% considered switching to a smartphone app.Moreover,the patterns of individual health protection measures and self-reported health impacts were significantly different between smartphone app users and non-users.Weather information dissemination should be tailored to the sociodemographic characteristics of the users.

Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM):Developing the Research Field within the Sendai Framework Paradigm

The intersection of health and disaster risk reduction(DRR) has emerged in recent years as a field of critical inquiry.Health is recognized as an outcome and a goal of DRR,and the integration of both fields is essential to ensure the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management(Health-EDRM) has emerged as an umbrella field that encompasses emergency and disaster medicine,DRR,humanitarian response,community health resilience,and health systems resilience.In September 2016,an international group of experts met in Hong Kong to assess the current status and potential of the Health-EDRM research field,a research area that these scholars characterized as underdeveloped and fragmented.Key challenges identified include research overlap,lack ofstrategic research agenda,absence of consensus regarding terminology,and limited coordination between stakeholders.The Sendai Framework provides a useful paradigm within which to shape the research field's strategic development.The WHO Thematic Platform for Health-EDRM Research Group was established to coordinate activities,promote information-sharing,develop partnerships,and provide technical advice to strengthen the Health-EDRM research field.This group will promote the generation of robust and scientific health research to support the meaningful implementation of the Sendai Framework.

Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM) in Remote Ethnic Minority Areas of Rural China:The Case of a Flood-Prone Village in Sichuan

Remote,rural ethnic-minority communities face greater disaster-related public health risks due to their lack of resources and limited access to health care.The Ethnic Minority Health Project(EMHP) was initiated in 2009 to work with remote,disaster-prone ethnic-minority villages that live in extreme poverty.One of the project's aims is to develop and evaluate bottom-up health risk reduction efforts in emergency and disaster risk management(HealthEDRM).This article shares project updates and describes field intervention results from the Yi ethnic community of Hongyan village in China's Sichuan Province,an area that experiences recurrent floods.It was found that 64% of the village respondents had never considered any form of disaster preparation,even with the recurrent flood risks.Health intervention participants showed sustained knowledge retention and were nine times more likely to know the correct composition of oral rehydration solution(ORS) after the intervention.Participants also retained the improved knowledge on ORS and disaster preparedness kit ownership12 months after the intervention.

Health and Risks:Integrating Health into Disaster Risk Reduction,Risk Communication,and Building Resilient Communities

In recent years,‘‘health’’has been recognized explicitly as both a determinant and an outcome of the human dimension of disaster risk reduction(DRR).Every disaster creates significant public health needs that can exceed local capacity to respond,resulting in excess mortality and morbidity.The European Union report on Science

Long-Term and Immediate Impacts of Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management(Health-EDRM) Education Interventions in a Rural Chinese Earthquake-Prone Transitional Village

Ma'an Qiao Village, a Dai and Yi ethnic minority-based community in Sichuan Province, China sustained complete infrastructure devastation during the 2008 Panzhihua earthquake. Health emergency and disaster risk management(Health-EDRM) education intervention programs were implemented in 2010 and 2011. This serial cross-sectional survey study aimed to examine the immediate and long-term impacts of the Health-EDRM interventions in this remote rural community. The findings demonstrate knowledge improvement in areas of water and sanitation, food and nutrition, and disaster preparedness immediately after the Health-EDRM education interventions. Temporal stability of knowledge retention was observed in household hygiene and waste management and smoking beliefs in 2018, 7 years after the interventions.Other important findings include knowledge uptake pattern differences of oral rehydration solution(ORS) between earthquake-prone and flood-prone communities. Usage of Internet and mobile technology for accessing disaster-related information was found to be independent of gender and income. Overall, this study demonstrated the knowledge improvement through Health-EDRM education interventions in a remote rural community. Promoting behavioral changes through interventions to raise awareness has the potential to reduce health risks in transitional post-disaster settings. Future programs should aim to identify evidence-based practices and explore how technology can support Health-EDRM education among vulnerable subgroups.

Risk Perception and Knowledge in Fire Risk Reduction in a Dong Minority Rural Village in China: A Health-EDRM Education Intervention Study

Fire is one of the major disasters in rural communities but evidence of the effectiveness of education interventions against fire risks is limited. This was a 2-year study assessed the effectiveness of face-to-face Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management(HealthEDRM) education interventions for raising fire risk reduction knowledge in a fire-prone rural ethnic minority community. The study was conducted in various pre-set time points of an intervention-based project in a Dongbased community in Nanjiang Village, Guizhou Province in 2015 and 2016 to increase knowledge among the villagers about how to reduce general-and electrical-fire risks. Pre-and post-intervention questionnaires were used to evaluate the effectiveness of increasing fire risk-related knowledge through these interventions, immediately after the 2015 and 2016 interventions, and 17 months after the 2015 intervention. The knowledge of using fire blanket,recalling the correct emergency telephone number,unplugging unused electrical appliances, and not using water to extinguish electrical fires had immediately improved after the interventions. Subjects demonstrated a better understanding that fire blankets can fight a blaze if used appropriately, and that knowledge was sustained for 17 months. The interventions were effective in improving fire prevention and response knowledge. Targeted interventions should be organized according to communities' culture, the evolution of economic prosperity and lifestyle practices.

Perception of Potential Health Risk of Climate Change and Utilization of Fans and Air Conditioners in a Representative Population of Hong Kong

Climate change, especially as reflected in heat waves, is a rising threat worldwide. Appropriate use of cooling devices can protect people from health impacts during a heat wave. A population-based telephone survey was conducted in a representative sample of residents in Hong Kong to investigate ownership and use of domestic cooling devices, identify correlates, and examine their associations with risk perception of potential health impact of climate change. More than 90% of the 1002 respondents owned and used cooling devices at home. The majority(57.7%) perceived the potential health risk of climate change at a high level. However, risk perception had no relationship with ownership and utilization of cooling devices. Old people(≥ 65 years), the low-educated, those with low income, and those with chronic diseases were more likely not to use air conditioners when feeling hot.Our findings suggest that there are no signs showing people have taken more protective actions although half of respondents recognized climate change as a threat. Familial economic condition may be a major determinant in ownership and use of air conditioners at home. Old people and those with chronic diseases are at high risk of adverse exposure to climate change and therefore should be equipped with appropriate measures to use cooling devices.