This is an exploratory study that described the prevalence and patterns of internet health information seeking in Hong Kong. A convenient sample of 443 individuals completed the questionnaires. Only 44% (N = 195) of the respondents were identified as health surfers. Health surfers tended to be younger females (age group 20-29) and have higher education. Digital divide was evident by age and education. Professional health sites (78.0%) were the majority sites visited. Health topics searched ranged from women's/men's health to chronic diseases such as heart diseases, cancer and diabetes. Over 60% considered online health information useful, however, about 44% were uncertain about the reliability of this information. The major criteria for health websites were information from professionals and ease of understanding. The results underline the need for bridging the digital divide and the potential for pro-active use of the internet for health promotion.

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This study explored the knowledge of breast cancer risk factors and employed the Health Belief Model (HBM) to examine the perception and barriers of breast cancer screenings of Hong Kong Chinese women using a structured questionnaire. Of the 496 respondents, 70.8% and 77.0% considered a family history of breast cancer and prior history of benign beast problems as risk factors respectively. However, over 40% were unsure of other risk factors including age, early age at menstruation, late age at menopause, childlessness and oral contraceptive use. About 80% regarded breast cancer as a serious illness and 88.7% acknowledged that both mammography and breast self examination (BSE) could help early detection of the disease. Nevertheless about 68% had never had a mammogram, and the most important perceived barriers were not knowing how the test was done (81.3%) and the cost (63.0%). Only 31.9% did not practice BSE, and not knowing how to perform BSE was the primary perceived barrier.

A number of indices have been devised to assess human comfort under a variety of atmospheric conditions. In the USA the most widely used, particularly by the broadcast media, are windchill for cold conditions and the Heat Index for hot. Both provide measures of instantaneous conditions and are useful as weather stress guides; each is evaluated in this presentation. Thereafter, the clo (a measure of comfort that provides an indication of the clothing required under a given set of conditions) is examined as a potential alternative comfort index to those in current use. Derived many years ago, the clo expresses the resistance to heat transfer by clothing and is expressed relative to units of thermal insulation. Derived clo values are compared with values of Heat Index and windchill for the same data sets at a selected station and significant relationships are obtained. The results indicate that the clo value could be used as an alternative to the current weather stress indices. Of note is that the clo permits use of a single index applicable to all seasons. The clo, however, may also be used as a guide to relative comfort representing long‐term average as well as extreme, instantaneous atmospheric conditions. It serves as a climatic index by providing a seasonal clothing index. To demonstrate its potential value, seasonal clothing guides for the USA, Europe, and Australia are provided.