Cooking smoke (household air pollution) exposure status of households in Ethiopia: A further analysis based on 2016 DHS data.

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Although currently adoption of modern life style has resulted in  reduction of consumption of solid fuels, the dependable source of household energy in developing countries still remain unclean and its incomplete combustion continue to be the most common source of cooking smoke  in Ethiopia. As a result, 50-90 % of households emitted cooking smoke which intern leads to various public health concerns. The objective of this study was to describe the household level cooking smoke exposure practices in Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted January 18 to June 27, 2016. From 16,650 households recorded in the 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey dataset, households (n=10,904 (weighted)) were included in the study. Proportions were computed and presented in tables and bar graph. Bi-variable analysis was performed using x² test to assess the existence of association and multivariable binary logistic regression also computed to identify the independent determinants of cooking smoke exposure status. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as a statistical significance cut off value.

Results: The study revealed that 6,695 (61.4%, 95% CI: 59.6-63.2) of households had cooking smoke exposure. The majority of cooking smoke exposure by households was attributable to the uneducated status of household head and rural residence (61.6% and 63.7% respectively). Sex (AOR =0.74, 95% CI: 0.64-0.85), age group of house hold head (AOR= 1.4, 95% CI: 1.49-1.81 and AOR= 1.39, 95% CI: 1.2, 1.63), residence (AOR= 0.55, 95% CI: 0.39-0.78), familiy size (AOR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.16–1.53), poorest wealth index (AOR= 6.1, 95% CI: 4.5-8.2), and households with television (AOR= 4.9, 95% CI: 3.8-6.3) and electricity for source of room light (AOR=1.52; 95% CI:1.09-2.12) were independent determinants for cooking smoke exposure status.

Conclusion: Cooking smoke exposure in studied households in Ethiopia was a persistent problem. Socio-demographic and economic factors along with advancing of clean energy technologies and behavior intervention need to be implemented to address the problem of household air pollution. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2021; 35(3):183-193]

Key words: Cooking, Smoke, Exposure, Household, Ethiopia, EDHS