title: Perception, attitude and behavior in relation to climate change: a survey among CDC health professionals in Shanxi province, China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A better understanding of public perceptions, attitude and behavior in relation to climate change will provide an important foundation for government׳s policy-making, service provider׳s guideline development and the engagement of local communities. The purpose of this study was to assess the perception towards climate change, behavior change, mitigation and adaptation measures issued by the central government among the health professionals in the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in China.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 2013, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was undertaken among 314 CDC health professionals in various levels of CDC in Shanxi Province, China. Descriptive analyses were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More than two thirds of the respondents believed that climate change has happened at both global and local levels, and climate change would lead to adverse impacts to human beings. Most respondents (74.8%) indicated the emission of greenhouse gases was the cause of climate change, however there was a lack of knowledge about greenhouse gases and their sources. Media was the main source from which respondents obtained the information about climate change. A majority of respondents showed that they were willing to change behavior, but their actions were limited. In terms of mitigation and adaptation measures issued by the Chinese Government, respondents׳ perception showed inconsistency between strategies and relevant actions. Moreover, although the majority of respondents believed some strategies and measures were extremely important to address climate change, they were still concerned about economic development, energy security, and local environmental protection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are gaps between perceptions and actions towards climate change among these health professionals. Further efforts need to be made to raise the awareness of climate change among health professionals, and to promote relevant actions to address climate change in the context of the proposed policies with local sustainable development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, Shanxi, China. Electronic address: junxinni@163.com.
authors.forename: Junni
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Public Health, School of Population Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia. Electronic address: alana.hansen@adelaide.edu.au.
authors.forename: Alana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Electronic address: ying.zhang@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Shanxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Taiyuan 030001 Shanxi, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China; Shandong University Climate Change and Health Center, Jinan 250012, Shandong, China. Electronic address: liuqiyong@icdc.cn.
authors.forename: Qiyong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, Anhui, China. Electronic address: yhsun@sina.com.
authors.forename: Yehuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Public Health, School of Population Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5005, Australia. Electronic address: peng.bi@adelaide.edu.au.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bi
mesh_terms: D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D002681:China; D057231:Climate Change; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
keywords: Adaptation; Climate change; Mitigation; Policy; Public perception