Objectives: Fine particulate matter pollution has emerged as a significant life-threatening issue in Thailand. Recognizing the importance of environmental health literacy (EHL) in disease prevention is crucial for protecting public health. This study investigated EHL levels and aimed to identify associated factors among village health volunteers (VHVs) in the upper northern region of Thailand. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data from 710 VHVs using the EHL assessment tool developed by the Department of Health, Thailand. Results: The overall EHL score was moderate (mean, 3.28 out of a possible 5.0), with the highest and lowest domain-specific mean score for the ability to make decisions (3.52) and the ability to access (3.03). Multiple linear regression revealed that the factors associated with EHL score were area of residence (urban areas in Chiang Mai: B=0.254; urban areas in Lampang: B=0.274; and rural areas in Lampang: B=0.250 compared to rural areas in Chiang Mai), higher education levels (senior high school: B=0.212; diploma/high vocational certificate: B=0.350; bachelor’s degree or above: B=0.528 compared to elementary school or lower), having annual health checkups compared to not having annual health check-ups (B=0.142), monthly family income (B=0.004), and individuals frequently facing air pollution issues around their residence (B=0.199) compared to those who reported no such issues. Conclusions The VHVs exhibited moderate EHL associated with residence area, education, health check-ups, family income, and residential air pollution. Considering these factors is vital for enhancing VHVs’ EHL through strategic interventions.

Objective:To assess the impact of exposure to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm(PM2.5)on non-accidental mortality under different apparent temperature levels and to further explore the modification effect of apparent temperature.Methods:This study used time-series design.Tianjin and Ningbo from China,Bangkok and Chiang Mai from Thailand were selected as the re-search sites,and the apparent temperature was applied as the exposure index.Through the quantitative estimation of the threshold temperature,the corresponding pollutant concentration was divided into high and low levels,and the generalized Poisson additive model was used to evaluate the association between PM2.5 exposure and non-accidental death of residents at different temperature levels.Results:The ave-rage concentrations of PM2.5 in Tianjin,Ningbo,Bangkok,and Chiang Mai during the study period were(73.6±35.6),(48.0±32.1),(33.5±28.4)and(32.6±28.6)μg/m3,respectively;the average daily non-accidental death counts were 148,57,28,and 8.The analysis of the generalized Poisson addi-tive model showed that the daily non-accidental death counts increased by 0.43％(95％CI:0.33％-0.54％)per 10 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 in lag 0 day in Tianjin of China;0.27％(95％CI:0.08％-0.46％)per 10 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 in lag 2 days in Ningbo of China.The effect was magnified in high temperature levels in Tianjin and in low temperatures in Ningbo and Bangkok.The mortality effect of PM2 5 in various temperature levels stayed still in co-pollutant regression models.Conclusion:Exposure to fine particulate matter had an adverse effect on non-accidental mortality,which reminded us to give further attention to the pollution control.The findings also indicated that apparent temperature might modify mortality effects of PM2 .5 and the modification effect varied in different regions.Protective policies due to regional differences should be made and more scientific and social attention on mutual effect of air pollution and climate change needs to be appealed.