Knowledge, attitude and socio-economic appraisal for the improved cook stove uptake among households in Rombo District, Kilimanjaro

Abstract

Background: Tanzania (80% of households), still use traditional cook stoves for cooking as well as for heating themselves and their houses during the cold weather, despite the health effects they have. The uptake of improved cook stove might be affected by cultural, beliefs, socioeconomic and willingness to pay.

Objectives: To assess the role of knowledge, attitudes and the socio-economic status of the households in adopting improved cook stoves in Tanzania.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using qualitative and quantitative research methods to collect data. For the quantitative part it involved 236 respondents using three-stone cook stoves, while for the qualitative part it involved 40 participants - 30 women and 20 men. Quantitative data were processed and analyzed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), while qualitative data was analyzed manually by using content analysis.

Results: Study found that 64% of the respondents were from low socio-economic status (SES) and majority of them, 224 (94.9%) had positive attitudes and 154 (65.3%) had knowledge of the use of the improved cook stove. In associating the variables, the study established that both SES and knowledge about the importance of using the improved cook stove had a significant association (P = 0.028 and 0.001 respectively). That is, respondents who were knowledgeable of health effects of using three stone cook stoves and those with high socio-economic
positions would be more likely buy and use improved cook stoves.

Conclusions: The high demand of the use of improved cook stoves was demonstrated despite of the cost and their low socioeconomic status.

Keywords: Knowledge, socio-economic status, improved cook stove