# Feeling unwell of passenger travel by small vehicles and associated risk factors in the North Shewa Zone, Oromiya, Ethiopia

## TL;DR

This study explores why some passengers feel unwell during minibus rides in Ethiopia, focusing on social, behavioral, and environmental factors.

## Contribution

The study introduces a sociocultural framework to understand travel-related illness in minibus passengers.

## Key findings

- Female and younger passengers are more likely to feel ill during minibus travel.
- Stress and multiple roles increase the likelihood of feeling unwell during travel.
- Unsafe roads and alcohol use before travel are linked to higher illness symptoms.

## Abstract

The current study investigated how and why sociocultural structures, situational conditions, and personal behavioural factors cause passengers to feel ill when travelling by minibuses, drawing on ideas from the social construction theory of illness. A significant objective was to investigate associated risk variables that influence passengers’ feelings of illness related to the social environment, addressing their beliefs, meanings, practices, and behaviours. A survey method was used to obtain data from 384 passengers for the study. The results of logistic regression indicated that feeling ill when travelling by minibuses differed from passenger to passenger; then, they had their own set of practical and emotional challenges that had no known medical reason. Compared with male and older passengers, female and younger passengers were more likely to feel ill. Furthermore, stress and role-set effects increased passengers’ experiences of feeling ill more than did passengers who had no stress prior to the trip and who had only one role. Additionally, passengers who travelled intermittently, utilized suppression techniques to lessen travel discomfort, and fastened seat belts were less likely to experience symptoms of illness. Passengers who travelled on unsafe roads and used alcohol before travel, on the other hand, were more likely to feel ill than those who travelled on safer roads and did not use alcohol before the trip. The findings suggest that passengers should be aware of predisposing conditions that result in illness, be able to rest before travelling, and use all suppressive methods to reduce or prevent illness while travelling by small buses.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-024-19172-8.