Objectives: Outdoor air pollution has been proved hazardous to health. It is notably important to elevate civil awareness and thorough dissemination of health information. This study tried to elucidate the associations between public awareness of air pollution, confidence in government strategies for dealing with air pollution, obtainment of air pollution information from different channels, trust in the information source, and personal health status. Methods: The data were obtained from the fifth survey of the first phase of the Taiwan Communication Survey, funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, 2016. Personal factors, information dissemination approaches, trust in the information source, and spatial differences were explored with logistic regression to understand respondents’ perception of outdoor air pollution risks and related health behavior. Results: 58.1% of respondentss thought air pollution may affect their own health. About 1/3 (36.7%) of people lacked confidence in strategies for improving air pollution led by the government. Residence, education, personal health status or happiness, information channel, and trust in the information source had significant association with risk awareness and confidence in government air-pollution measures. Conclusions: Our results suggested the importance of enhancing the reliability of health information provided from TV and internet and boosting confidence in government actions to combat air pollution. Finally, awareness of the risk of air pollution can be improved for specific population segments including males, singles and the elderly population.
