Overcoming perceived barriers and promoting indoor air quality management practices among Myanmar migrants in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand: The roles of protection motivation theory and environmental health literacy

Myanmar migrants residing in Thailand may face diverse barriers—such as financial difficulties, housing condition limitations, and time constraints—when performing indoor air quality (IAQ) management practices. These barriers may lessen the motivation to perform such practices, even though Myanmar migrants have risk perceptions, sufficient knowledge, and skills related to IAQ management. This study aims to examine how IAQ literacy, perceived barriers, and protection motivation theory (PMT) variables—such as perceived threat (perceived susceptibility and severity) and perceived capacity (response efficacy and self-efficacy)—are associated with IAQ management practices. It also aims to examine how perceived barriers moderate the association of IAQ literacy and PMT constructs with IAQ management practices. A cross-sectional study was conducted using questionnaire surveys among Myanmar migrant communities in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand, from 15 to 30 June 2025. The participants included 421 Myanmar migrants residing in Samut Sakhon Province for at least one year at the time of data collection. The analysis of the measurement model was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis to test the reliability of the measurements. Questionnaire items with low factor loadings were removed to enhance convergent validity. Then, a hierarchical linear regression model was analyzed to test the association of IAQ literacy and PMT constructs with IAQ management practices. In addition, the moderating effect of perceived barriers was evaluated. The results revealed that PMT constructs—such as self-efficacy and perceived severity—were significantly associated with IAQ management practices only when they interacted with perceived barriers. The association of self-efficacy and perceived severity with IAQ management practices was strong when perceived barriers were high. In addition, perceived barriers negatively moderated the positive relationship between IAQ literacy and management practices, indicating that this positive relationship weakened when perceived barriers were high. The results have implications for the development of communication strategies to enhance motivation to perform IAQ management practices when faced with diverse barriers.