Caregivers’ experiences of PM2.5 prevention for preschool children in Thailand: a qualitative study with focus group interviews

PURPOSE: This study explored caregivers' lived experiences and everyday practices related to preventing exposure to particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) among preschool children in a rural community in northern Thailand. Recurring haze and limited local resources create distinct challenges in this setting, making it important to understand how caregivers perceive air-quality risks and manage children's exposure in daily life. METHODS: This qualitative descriptive study used focus group interview supplemented by in-depth interviews. Twenty primary caregivers of preschool-aged children (14 females and 6 males) participated. Data were collected with a semi-structured interview guide and analyzed using qualitative content analysis based on the approach described by Graneheim and Lundman. RESULTS: Three major themes emerged from the analysis: (1) barriers in environmental awareness and responsibility, reflecting tensions between pervasive local pollution sources and caregivers' sense of helplessness; (2) individual efforts for disease prevention, describing caregivers' limited resources and reliance on visible symptoms rather than proactive prevention; and (3) building empathy and social support, indicating a shift from individual coping toward collective efforts to pursue education and structural change. Conclusion: Reliance on reactive coping strategies highlights the limitations of individual- level prevention when infrastructure gaps remain. Effective interventions should therefore combine caregiver health literacy with advocacy for improved waste management policies. These findings underscore the need to move beyond placing responsibility primarily on families and toward strengthening community-level structural support for sustainable child protection.