Objective  To explore the perception, cognition and behavior about fog and haze among commercial service personnel in Guangzhou city and to provide evidences for governmental agencies to implement prevention and control measures for fog and haze.

  Methods  We selected 1 574 commercial service staff who visited Guangzhou Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention for obtaining health certificate using random sampling and conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey among the staff during January 2016.

  Results  Of the respondents, 2.29 % believed that there was no haze in the area they lived; 3.18 % did not concern about haze; 13.41 % had no idea about components of haze; 90.15 % thought that haze could induce respiratory diseases; 72.43 % obtained information on haze through internet; 32.27 % did not reduce their nonessential travels because of fog and haze; 22.94 % did not reduce their outdoor activities due to fog and haze; and 96.89 % took protective measures for haze conditions. Among the respondents, the perception on fog and haze in local areas differed significantly by age, education level, duration of living in Guangzhou city, and residential area (P < 0.05 for all); the concern about fog and haze in local areas differed significantly by age, duration of living in Guangzhou city, and time of daily outdoor activities (P < 0.01 for all); the knowledge about main components of fog and haze differed significantly by age, education level, and time of daily outdoor activities (P < 0.01 for all). The ratio of considering that haze could induce respiratory diseases was higher among the respondents with higher education than among those with lower education (P < 0.01); the proportion of obtaining information on fog and haze condition via internet was higher among the respondents at younger age, with higher education, living in Guangzhou city for a shorter duration, and residing in suburban areas than among other respondents (P < 0.01). There were significant differences in the impact of fog and haze on nonessential travel and outdoor activity among the respondents of different gender and education background (P < 0.05 for all) and in the influence of fog and haze on outdoor activity among the respondents with various time of outdoor activity (P < 0.01). More female respondents reported taking protective measures under haze weather condition than male respondents (P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  The perception, cognition and behavior about fog and haze are associated with age, gender, education level, duration of living in Guangzhou city, time for outdoor activity, and residential area among the commercial service personnel in Guangzhou city; targeted health education on prevention and control of haze weather related hazards should be conducted among different populations.