Factors that Influence Individual and Community Behavioural Change Regarding Environmental Health

Abstract

Background: Increased environmental health problems have led to a rise in concern among individuals, as well as government and non-governmental organizations to tackle them. To achieve this, there is a need for behavioural change among individuals and the community on environmental health at local to international levels. The purpose of this paper is to critically explore the factors that influence personal and community behavioural change regarding environmental health. Method: The study is a systematic review of the literature on the factors that influence personal behavioural change regarding environmental health based on the relevant studies published between 2005 and 2020. We carried out a comprehensive literature review following the PRISMA statement for systematic reviews. We searched for articles using relevant themes from different potential bibliographic databases, including Science Direct, Web of Sciences, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed and Scopus. We systematically selected, compiled, and analyzed articles using descriptive methods. Results: This study revealed the following factors that influence personal and community behavioural change towards environmental health: knowledge and awareness, attitudes, beliefs and core values, social and life adoption skills, psychological disposition, media, sociocultural, economic and political influences, contextual factors and environmental stressors. Conclusion: This paper offers new and current cross-sectoral factors that influence personal and community behavioural change towards environmental health at local to international levels.