Socio-Cultural Reasons and Community Perceptions Regarding Indoor Cooking Using Biomass Fuel and Traditional Stoves in Rural Ethiopia: A Qualitative Study

Mulugeta Tamire, Adamu Addissie, Susann Skovbjerg, Rune Andersson and Mona Lärstad
Additional contact information
Mulugeta Tamire: Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 366 Code 1029, Ethiopia
Adamu Addissie: Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 366 Code 1029, Ethiopia
Susann Skovbjerg: Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Guldhedsgatan 10A, SE 41346 Gothenburg, Sweden
Rune Andersson: Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Guldhedsgatan 10A, SE 41346 Gothenburg, Sweden
Mona Lärstad: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 16A, 41390 Gothenburg, Sweden

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Around three billion people in the world and 90% of the rural households in low-and middle-income countries are exposed to wood smoke with varying exposure levels and resulting health risks. We aimed to explore perceptions of the community towards indoor cooking and the socio-cultural barriers to bring change in Butajira, rural Ethiopia. We conducted a qualitative study involving ten separate focus group discussions with purposively selected members of the community and two key informant interviews with health extension workers. Content analysis was carried out using ATLAS.ti software. Participants reported the use of fuel wood and traditional three-stone cook stove to cook food. Economic status, lack of commitment, cultural views and concern along with safety and security issues were found to be barriers to change from traditional to cleaner methods of cooking. The community perceived wood smoke to have effects on their eyes and respiratory health, though they culturally viewed it as beneficial for postpartum mothers and newborns, avoiding bad smell and insects and in order to strengthen the fabric of their houses. Health education at community level is essential in order to bring about change in the cultural views and cooking behaviors focusing on opening windows and keeping young children away during cooking.

Keywords: household air pollution; socio-cultural barriers; community perception; Ethiopia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/9/2035/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/9/2035/ (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:15:y:2018:i:9:p:2035-:d:170462

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 ().