Community Perceptions of Air Pollution and Related Health Risks in Nairobi Slums

Thaddaeus Egondi, Catherine Kyobutungi, Nawi Ng, Kanyiva Muindi, Samuel Oti, Steven Van de Vijver, Remare Ettarh and Joacim Rocklöv
Additional contact information
Thaddaeus Egondi: African Population and Health Research Center, P.O. Box 10787, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Catherine Kyobutungi: African Population and Health Research Center, P.O. Box 10787, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Nawi Ng: Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Umeå SE-901 85, Sweden
Kanyiva Muindi: African Population and Health Research Center, P.O. Box 10787, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Samuel Oti: African Population and Health Research Center, P.O. Box 10787, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Steven Van de Vijver: African Population and Health Research Center, P.O. Box 10787, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Remare Ettarh: Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
Joacim Rocklöv: Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Umeå SE-901 85, Sweden

IJERPH, 2013, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: 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 levels and associations between perceived pollution and health risk perception among slum residents. A cross-sectional study of 5,317 individuals aged 35+ years was conducted in two slums of Nairobi. Association of perceived score and individual characteristics was assessed using linear regression. Spatial variation in the perceived levels was determined through hot spot analysis using ArcGIS. The average perceived air pollution level was higher among residents in Viwandani compared to those in Korogocho. Perceived air pollution level was positively associated with perceived health risks. The majority of respondents were exposed to air pollution in their place of work with 66% exposed to at least two sources of air pollution. Less than 20% of the respondents in both areas mentioned sources related to indoor pollution. The perceived air pollution level and related health risks in the study community were low among the residents indicating the need for promoting awareness on air pollution sources and related health risks.

Keywords: perceived air quality; air pollution; perceived health risk; urban slum (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/10/4851/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/10/4851/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:10:y:2013:i:10:p:4851-4868:d:29427

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().