Community Perceptions on Health Conditions Related to Indoor Air Pollution Among Adults Living in Urban Informal Settlements in Mwanza City, Tanzania

TL;DR

This study explores how people in Mwanza's informal urban areas perceive health risks from indoor air pollution caused by biomass fuels.

Contribution

It provides new insights into community perceptions and risk behaviors related to indoor air pollution in a sub-Saharan African urban informal settlement.

Findings

Most participants were unaware of health risks from indoor air pollution.

Charcoal was perceived as safer than firewood or gas despite being a biomass fuel.

Poverty was identified as a key driver of fuel choice and associated health risks.

Abstract

Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) from biomass fuel is one of the major health threats globally. There is limited data on community awareness and perceptions of health conditions associated with IAP in urban informal settlements in sub-Saharan Africa. We explored community perceptions of IAP-associated health conditions, risk behaviors, and potential interventions to reduce IAP in urban informal settlements.

We used purposive sampling to recruit participants from households located in Mwanza urban informal settlements. We conducted 16 In-depth Interviews (IDIs), two Focused Group Discussions (FGDs), and four Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). Obtained data were then transcribed, translated, coded and analyzed thematically with Dedoose qualitative data analysis software.

Majority of participants were unaware of the health conditions associated with IAP. Participants perceived biomass fuel from charcoal as a safe fuel compared to other known fuels (firewood and gas). Indoor biomass fuel use for cooking and use of rubber and plastic materials for fire lighting were the commonly practices and risk behaviors for IAP. Moreover, poverty is what guides the choice of fuel use for cooking.

Participants awareness health effects of biomass fuel was low, strategies to reduce poverty and health promotion on the health effects of IAP are urgently needed in the Mwanza urban informal settlements.