Usage of Social Media and Smartphone Application in Assessment of Physical and Psychological Well-Being of Individuals in Times of a Major Air Pollution Crisis

Zhang, Melvyn WB; Ho, Cyrus SH; Fang, Pan; Lu, Yanxia; Ho, Roger CM

In addition, our findings show that the perceived dangerous PSI value, not the actual PSI value and number of physical symptoms determined the psychological impact during the haze crisis. Furthermore, the higher number of physical symptoms was associated with greater psychological impact. This finding suggests that reduction in the number of physical symptoms may reduce psychological impact during haze crisis. Also, from our analysis, the total IES-R score was 18.47 (SD 11.69). A total IES-R score of 33 or more signifies the likely presence of post-traumatic stress disorder [14]. Our results suggest that the haze did not cause post-traumatic stress disorder in the general population, but it caused mild to moderate psychological impact. Intrusive symptoms such as recurrent thoughts and feelings were more common than hyperarousal and avoidance symptoms in our study population. The local government played a key role in reducing the psychological impact. On June 21, the local government took immediate measures to protect its citizens, including hourly updates of the PSI value on television, cancellation of all school activities, offering medical subsidies to treat physical discomfort associated with haze, and providing 1 million free N-95 masks to the needy households [15]. As a result, the personal possession and perceived usefulness of N-95 masks were not predictors of psychological stress.