Development of an air quality communication strategy with underserved groups

Abstract Air quality is the greatest environmental health threat. Effective communication can support individuals to take actions to protect themselves, however, we know some groups are less likely to engage with exposure reducing behaviours than others. We aimed to explore what information individuals want to receive about raised air pollution levels, when, where and how they would like to receive it. In this qualitative study individuals participated in either semi-structured interviews (n = 6) or focus groups (n = 8) in North East England between Oct23-Feb24. We used purposive sampling underpinned by extensive community-based engagement to ensure inclusion of those who were underserved and/ or at risk of digital exclusion. The Capability Opportunity Motivation-Behaviour model was used to help guide discussions and the data thematically analysed using an inductive approach. Fifty individuals participated, many of whom were of non-white ethnicity (n = 23, 46%), spoke English as an additional language (n = 12, 24%), and had lower educational attainment levels (i.e., no-qualifications n = 7, 14%). Participants discussed four aspects that they deemed important to include in air quality communication: (1) the risk and harms of air pollution should be stated, and be tailored because “what’s a dangerous level for one person isn’t a dangerous level for another”(P41) (2) Participants felt detail about the pollutants should be included such as: “what is causing the air pollution?”(P15) to “avoid the exposure to this source”(P21). (3) Messages should also include actionable recommendations about how to protect oneself and, (4) various ways to communicate these messages (text-message-based approaches being the most popular) were suggested. Our findings indicated using a combined communication strategy including text messages and community-based approaches. This work can inform the development of inclusive future air quality information communication Key messages • Effective communication can support individuals to take actions to protect themselves from air pollution. • A combined communication strategy including text messages and community-based approaches were suggested as being effective communication strategies.