Awareness on Environmental Air Pollution among Adults in Rural Mysuru

Introduction Air pollution is a major environmental threat and one of the main cases of death among all risk factors known so far. Health effects also include preterm and low-birthweight, asthma as well as cognitive and neurological impairment basically having the potential to impact our whole body, way beyond our lungs. The proposed study focusses on to assess the awareness on air pollution and factors associated with it among adults in South Mysuru which can put a light on the preventive measures and policies to be taken by the individuals as well as the authorities. Methodology A Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adults more than 18 years in the rural field practice area of Suttur PHC. By systematic random sampling method 400 individuals were chosen from 2283 household. Every 5th house was selected and one member from the 5th house was selected by convenient sampling. Data was collected by pre validated semi structured questionnaire containing socio demographic profile, awareness on air pollution and awareness on factors associated with it. Analysis was done using SPSS 28. Results In the current study, 47 participants (11.8%) were unaware, whereas 353 (88.3%) were aware of environmental air pollution. The majority had an average awareness score of 48.5% regarding air pollution whereas 41% had poor awareness and 10.5% had excellent awareness. Conclusion The study concludes that although the majority of participants were aware of air pollution, a significant portion had poor awareness, highlighting the need for enhanced educational and preventive measures.