Industrial air pollution in rural Kenya: community awareness, risk perception and associations between risk variables
نویسندگان
چکیده
BACKGROUND Developing countries have limited air quality management systems due to inadequate legislation and lack of political will, among other challenges. Maintaining a balance between economic development and sustainable environment is a challenge, hence investments in pollution prevention technologies get sidelined in favor of short-term benefits from increased production and job creation. This lack of air quality management capability translates into lack of air pollution data, hence the false belief that there is no problem. The objectives of the study were to: assess the population's environmental awareness, explore their perception of pollution threat to their health; examine the association between specific health hazards. METHODS A cross-sectional study was implemented by gathering quantitative information on demographic, health status, environmental perception and environmental knowledge of residents to understand their view of pollution in their neighborhood. Focus group discussions (FGDs) allowed for corroboration of the quantitative data. RESULTS Over 80% of respondents perceived industrial pollution as posing a considerable risk to them despite the fact that the economy of the area largely depended on the factory. Respondents also argued that they had not been actively involved in identifying solutions to the environmental challenges. The study revealed a significant association between industrial pollution as a risk and, perception of risk from other familiar health hazards. The most important factors influencing the respondents' pollution risk perception were environmental awareness and family health status. CONCLUSION This study avails information to policy makers and researchers concerning public awareness and attitudes towards environmental pollution pertinent to development and implementation of environmental policies for public health.
منابع مشابه
Author's response to reviews Title: Industrial Air Pollution in Rural Kenya: Community Awareness, Risk Perception and Associations between Risk Variables Authors:
متن کامل
Why participation matters for air quality studies: risk perceptions, understandings of air pollution and mobilization in a poor neighborhood in Nairobi, Kenya.
OBJECTIVES With high urbanization rates, Sub-Saharan Africa is facing growing problems of poor air quality in its cities. We make a case for participatory approaches in air quality studies especially including those living in poor neighborhoods who may be particularly at risk from this trend. STUDY DESIGN We used collaboration with a community based organization, interviews, focus group discu...
متن کاملCommunity Perspectives on Air Pollution and its Related Health Risks: A Case Study of Tehran (2012-2013)
Abstract Background and purpose:Recent perspectives on public understandings of global environmental risk have emphasized the interpretation, judgment and sense-making “that takes place, modes of perception that are inextricably tied to aspects of and local” context. The main interest of this study is to observe the socio-demographic (gender, age, and education) differences in awareness of pol...
متن کاملCommunity Perceptions of Air Pollution and Related Health Risks in Nairobi Slums
Air pollution is among the leading global risks for mortality and responsible for increasing risk for chronic diseases. Community perceptions on exposure are critical in determining people's response and acceptance of related policies. Therefore, understanding people' perception is critical in informing the design of appropriate intervention measures. The aim of this paper was to establish leve...
متن کاملRacial Differences in Perceptions of Air Pollution Health Risk: Does Environmental Exposure Matter?
This article extends environmental risk perception research by exploring how potential health risk from exposure to industrial and vehicular air pollutants, as well as other contextual and socio-demographic factors, influence racial/ethnic differences in air pollution health risk perception. Our study site is the Greater Houston metropolitan area, Texas, USA-a racially/ethnically diverse area f...
متن کامل