Knowledge, attitudes and practices on indoor air pollution exposures among the residents of Kitimbwa Town Council Kayunga district Uganda

Abstract

Indoor air pollution (IAP) poses a significant health risk, particularly in developing countries like Uganda where reliance on traditional cooking fuels is common. People in rural areas live in households with limited ventilation, experience higher proportions of exposures since they spend a large proportion of their time indoors. However, there is still limited evidence on appropriate practice to reduce the burden of indoor air pollution exposures and its related factors such as awareness and attitude towards the practices of the rural residents. To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices on Indoor Air Pollution exposures among the residents of Kitimbwa Town Council, Kayunga District. A cross-sectional study was conducted employing a number of methods that include participant observations and three key informant interviews with the residents of Kitimbwa Town Council, Kayunga district. This was done through interviewer-administered questionnaire that was administered to a sample size of 107 respondents. Data collected from this study were downloaded into an Excel sheet for cleaning and exported to Stata MP 14.0 (64-bit) for univariate analysis, while qualitative data was analyzed manually using thematic analysis. Results: The study revealed that 80.4% (86/107) of respondents were knowledgeable about indoor air pollution. The study also revealed that 79.4% (84/107) of the respondents believed that they were at a risk of Indoor Air Pollution exposures. This study established that knowledge about indoor air pollution among residents was relatively high. Despite this awareness, there remained a significant gap between knowledge and implementation of effective preventive measures and a better understanding of the full range of health impacts. The findings also revealed generally a positive attitude towards mitigating indoor air pollution. A high proportion of the respondents believed that they were at risk of exposure to indoor air pollution. Additionally, most of the respondents had considered switching to cleaner fuels although cultural norms and economic concerns strongly influenced their attitudes.