Assessing the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of nonresident students of Makerere University towards fire prevention

Abstract

Background: Fire outbreak is still posing a great challenge to public health globally with greater challenge in developing countries where less capital is invested in fire prevention. Objective: This study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Makerere University students who sleep outside the university concerning fire prevention in their hostels to give relevant stakeholders evident-based information for further action. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was used to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices among 405 students between Septembers to November, 2021. The data was collected using pre-tested self-administered questionnaires, cleaned, analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2007 and presented in frequency tables with proportions and percentage. Result: Out of 405 nonresident students who participated in the study, majority were males, 53.09%. The mean age of the participants was 22.84(Standard Deviation, 1.27) and ages ranged between 18 to 31 years. Majority of students were in second year of their studies, 55.56%. 91.36% of the participants knew importance of oxygen in fire outbreak, 84.44% believed that their hostels are not safe against fire; only 10.12% had been trained on how to use fire extinguishers as well as only 10.62% reported the presence of at least one type of fire extinguisher in their hostels. Conclusion: The study revealed that there was significant knowledge and attitude but poor practices among nonresident students so; more effort should be put to promote safe practices among nonresident students concerning fire prevention. Keywords: knowledge, attitude, practices, non-resident students, fire prevention