Gaps in perceived climate change harm on health among cancer survivors and the US general population.

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522 Background: Climate change is an emerging public health threat and significantly affects people’s health outcomes and the healthcare system. Little is known about the awareness and perceived impact of climate change on health. This study assessed climate change harm perceptions among cancer survivors and the general population in the US. Methods: We analyzed nationally representative cross-sectional data from the 2022 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) that used two-stage stratified sampling to interview US adults aged ≥18 years. Adults with a cancer history were cancer survivors. Per HINTS, perceived climate change harm was measured by asking “how much do you think climate change will harm your health?” based on a 4-point Likert scale: not at all, a little, some, and a lot. We compared weighted percentages (95% CIs) and calculated p -trend using the Cochran-Armitage test. We conducted weighted ordinal logistic regression to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% CIs, after controlling for sociodemographic factors, census region, and health status. All statistical analyses accounted for complex survey design and weights. Results: The unweighted sample size was 5,808 (weighted sample, 240,228,932; mean age, 49.3 years). 11.0% were Black, 16.9% were Hispanic, and were 61.3% White; 10.0% had a cancer history. Overall, 21.6% (95% CI: 19.8-23.5%) perceived climate change would harm their health a lot; 31.6% (95% CI: 29.2-34.0%), 22.9% (95% CI: 20.9-24.9%), and 23.9% (95% CI: 21.6-26.1%) perceived some, a little, and not at all, respectively. The climate change harm perception level was similar between cancer survivors and the general population ( p -trend = 0.538). After covariate adjustment, the odds of climate change harm perceptions were not significantly different between cancer survivors and the general population (aOR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.66-1.14). However, adults who extremely (aOR, 2.93; 95% CI, 2.02-4.27), moderately (aOR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.67-3.06), slightly (aOR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.10-1.96), or somewhat (aOR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.39-2.47) worried about getting cancer had greater odds of perceiving climate change harm than those who were not at all worried ( p -trend < 0.001). Additionally, female sex, Black race, Hispanic ethnicity, and higher levels of education were associated with greater odds of perceiving climate change harm. Conclusions: Nearly 1 in 4 perceived that climate change would not harm their health at all. Climate change harm perception varied by the degree of concern about getting cancer. Our findings underscore the need to improve health communication and education regarding climate change-related health risks across US populations.

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