Hanoi air quantitative report: a cross-sectional study of knowledge, awareness, and sustainable practices related to air pollution among residents of Hanoi, Vietnam
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Vanderbloemen, Laura
Liamputtong, Pranee
Nguyen, Oanh Thi Kieu
Hoang, Khanh Vo Ngoc
Huynh, Huy Xuan
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
This study contributes to the broader sustainability discourse by evaluating public knowledge, awareness, and practices regarding air pollution among residents of Hanoi, Vietnam, focusing on its causes, health impacts, and mitigation strategies. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 521 individuals in suburbs around Hanoi. A multistage sampling technique, combining cluster and simple random sampling, was used for participant recruitment. Three central and three suburban districts of Hanoi were randomly selected as clusters. One individual from each household was invited to participate and answer a structured survey, which assessed perceptions of air pollution, its human-induced causes, recognised health impacts, and individual and community-level mitigation behaviours. Nearly all participants (98.3%) were aware of air pollution, with 65.3% attributing it to human activities and 61.2% recognising specific air pollutants as primary contributors. The majority (93.9%) acknowledged health impacts, citing respiratory infections (55.1%) and sinus issues (51.2%) as prevalent concerns. Vulnerable groups, such as children under 5 (82.3%) and adults over 65 years old (77.4%), were identified as disproportionately affected. Social media (68.9%) and television (58.3%) were the dominant sources of information. Despite a recognition of air pollution’s importance (98.5%), there was limited engagement in systemic sustainability actions, such as supporting renewable energy initiatives. Most participants (84.3%) reported personal mitigation efforts, including energy-saving practices (35.5%) and walking instead of driving a car or bike (35.3%). While awareness of air pollution and its health impacts is high among Hanoi residents, proactive engagement in systemic solutions remains limited. Policymakers should prioritise community-based programs, public–private partnerships, sustainability education, and culturally tailored policy interventions to bridge gaps between awareness and action. Tailored interventions addressing demographic and cultural factors are essential to fostering socio-environmental sustainability in rapidly urbanising contexts.
Date Issued
2025-07-18
Date Acceptance
2025-07-02
Citation
Sustainability, 2025, 17 (14)
ISSN
2071-1050
Publisher
MDPI AG
Journal / Book Title
Sustainability
Volume
17
Issue
14
Copyright Statement
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/).
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Subjects
air pollution
Environmental Sciences
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
Environmental Studies
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Hanoi
knowledge
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
practice
Science & Technology
Science & Technology - Other Topics
sustainability
sustainable practices
Vietnam
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
6557
Date Publish Online
2025-07-18