Kitchen-Related Indoor Air Pollution Awareness Among University Staff

Abstract

Objective: “Indoor air pollution” (IAP) is a leading cause of morbidity and premature death in developing countries, accounting for 7.7% of global deaths. Cooking comes first among the factors that make up the IAP. Evaluating the kitchen-related IAP is important both because cooking is one of the leading pollutants and because IAP measurements are higher in the kitchen. The main purpose of the study is to determine the status and awareness of university administrative staff in terms of determinants of indoor air pollution.

Method: The study is cross-sectional and was carried out between September 2018 and March 2021. The population of the research consists of 1156 people who are administrative staff of a university in the western cities of Turkey. The sample size was calculated as 288 by taking the prevalence of 50%, d:1, and an acceptable margin of error of 5%, taking into account the population, and was determined by systematic sampling. The questionnaire form consisting of 26 questions, which was created by the researchers based on the literature, was applied to the participants via university mail and face-to-face interview method. In cases where the main person who cooks the food at home is someone other than the participant, these people are named as “secondary persons” in order to facilitate the presentation of the data.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 39.5±8.1 years, 54.2% were female and 59.0% were university graduates. When the participants are evaluated in terms of the person who cooks the food at home, 56.6% of them cook the food themselves. 66.7% of the participants use the cylinder, 38.9% electricity, 31.9% natural gas, 6.3% wood as fuel for cooking. 52.4% of the participants have heard the concept of "indoor air pollution" before. Women heard the concept of “domestic air pollution” more than men (p:0.001).

Conclusion: Only half of the participants in the study have heard of the concept of IAP. Gender was the only factor affecting hearing the concept of IAP, and the awareness level of women was found to be higher. There is a need for studies that will evaluate the IAP and especially kitchen-related air pollution.