Perceived Health Impacts, Sources of Information and Individual Actions to Address Air Quality in Two Cities in Nigeria
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. Health Impacts of Poor Air Quality
2.2. Sources of Information on Air Quality
2.3. Individual Actions in Response to Poor Air Quality
3. Materials and Methods
3.1. Research Locations
3.2. Sample Participants and Demographics
3.3. Data Collection and Analysis
4. Results
4.1. Health Impacts of Poor Air Quality
“I want to believe that in this case, it is education. Most of these things are taught in schools. Education plays a major role here. The younger ones are more educated than the older ones in Enugu.”—Eof1.
“The understanding of the meaning of air quality. The awareness of the air quality of the cities. The more educated and higher income earners are more aware or exposed to what air quality implies and can know why air quality is poor more than the less educated and lower income earners.”—Aom7.
4.2. Age Groups Perceived to Be most Affected by Poor Air Quality
“The higher income earners and higher educated people are more aware of poor air quality due to their education and where they live.”—Aof9.
4.3. Gender Perceived to Be most Affected by Poor Air Quality
4.4. Interaction between Poor Air Quality and COVID-19
4.5. Perceived Health Effects of Poor Air Quality on Individuals in the Past Year
“Those with higher income and higher education are more aware of what contributes to poor air quality than the less educated and lower income earners who do not know much about air quality.”—Ayf8
“Many older people in Enugu who have had the experience of how the city environment used to be or has changed with many activities can say the air quality is poorer than before while the younger who do not have much of experience would say the environment or air quality is better.”—Aom4.
“The older people are more affected or vulnerable and they may rate air quality poorer in the Enugu city, and the younger ones may not be as concerned about their air quality like the older people.”—Ayf5.
“The older people must have lived in the area when there were less population and activities that contribute to poor air quality. That is to say that the older ones are more experienced with the locations and that is why they rated the areas poorer than the younger ones.”—Eof6.
4.6. Sources of Information on Air Quality
“At the moment, the younger ones are having more access to information on air quality due to the new technology coming up than the older ones. They have more access to the internet and are more aware of the control measures than the older ones.”—Eym12.
“Miseducation has made the older generation 35+ and above not decode the need for clean air and the ills from air pollution. Younger people even without witnessing clean air or a good ecosystem have seen it on the internet which they access more than the older generation and are more educated to understand that it could have been better than what it is in the present”—Eym3.
“I believe that there is no difference in Abuja because Abuja is a developed city. Everybody tends to believe in the same thing as most of the activities by old and young are almost the same way. There are not many ghettos in Abuja but there are in Enugu.”—Ayf3.
4.7. Individual Actions for Clean Air
“It is the government that should be in the prime position to control poor air quality.”—Eyf4.
“It is the primary responsibility of government to implement air pollution control, but it is a collective responsibility of both citizens and government to control poor air quality with organized public knowledge, sensitization & orientation”.—Eym3
“In this case, I think the government should take the primary responsibility. The government should set rules for managing poor air quality and should be held responsible”.—Eof5.
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
- The beliefs of residents on the health impacts of PAQ are similar in two different developing-world cities (Abuja and Enugu) in Nigeria.
- The perceptions of people in the study areas are mainly because of awareness and knowledge of AQ.
- The majority of the residents believe that they are affected by PAQ and were affected in the year prior to the research (74% in Abuja and 75% in Enugu).
- Older people are identified to be the group of people most vulnerable to the deleterious effects of PAQ (mean scores: 1.91 in Abuja and 1.58 in Enugu).
- PAQ was perceived to make COVID-19 worse and to increase the chances of COVID-19 infection and aggravate the effects of the pandemic.
- The Internet is the major source of information about AQ in Abuja and Enugu (mean scores: 2.04 in Abuja and 2.06 in Enugu).
- Action on proper waste disposal was identified by residents as the most highly ranked option to reduce PAQ (mean scores: 1.54 in Abuja and 1.52 in Enugu).
- Residents considered PAQ an issue for the government but were unwilling to pay the government to manage PAQ.
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Characteristic | Abuja (N = 137) | Enugu (N = 125) |
---|---|---|
Gender | ||
Male | 76 (55%) | 63 (50%) |
Female | 61 (45%) | 62 (50%) |
Age (cohort) | ||
18–34 years | 61 (45%) | 60 (45%) |
≥35 years | 76 (55%) | 65 (55%) |
Average monthly income () | ||
0–50,000 | 57 (42%) | 68 (54%) |
51,000–100,000 | 24 (18%) | 39 (31%) |
≥101,000 | 56 (40%) | 18 (15%) |
Highest education qualification | ||
≥Secondary/equivalent | 28 (21%) | 25 (20%) |
Bachelor/diploma or equivalent | 59 (43%) | 78 (62%) |
PhD/master’s or equivalent | 50 (36%) | 22 (18%) |
Main occupation | ||
Unemployed | 27 (19%) | 21 (17%) |
Employed (wage) | 93 (69%) | 79 (63%) |
Self-employed | 17 (12%) | 25 (20%) |
The main modes of transportation used | ||
Walking/cycling | 18 (13%) | 5 (4%) |
Taxi | 55 (40%) | 46 (37%) |
Public mass transit | 8 (6%) | 52 (41%) |
Personal car | 56 (41%) | 22 (18%) |
Likert Scale Scores | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Questions | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Health impacts of PAQ | Strongly agree | Agree | Do not know | Disagree | Strongly disagree |
Age group most vulnerable impacts of PAQ | Badly impacted | Well impacted | Slightly impacted | No impact | Do not know |
Gender most vulnerable impacts of PAQ | Male | Female | Do not know | ||
Does PAQ worsen COVID-19 | Yes | No | Do not know | ||
Does PAQ increase the chance of COVID-19 infection | Yes | No | Do not know | ||
Health impact of PAQ in the past year | Very affected | Moderately affected | Slightly affected | Not affected | Do not know |
Sources of information on AQ | Extremely important | Very important | Moderately important | Slightly important | Not at all important |
Individual actions for clean air | Strongly agree | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | Strongly disagree |
Health Impacts of PAQ | Cities | Gender | Age | Income | Education | Occupation | Transportation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Respiratory diseases | Abuja | 2.728 | 6.524 | 4.265 | 3.858 | 4.205 | 12.568 ** |
Enugu | 5.456 | 8.251 | 1.528 | 11.159 * | 10.676 * | 2.553 | |
Eye/skin problem | Abuja | 2.053 | 3.660 | 2.092 | 4.088 | 1.360 | 3.463 |
Enugu | 4.435 | 9.414 * | 2.637 | 5.985 | 2.335 | 2.854 | |
Heart diseases | Abuja | 2.551 | 7.748 | 11.406 * | 7.198 | 5.012 | 6.822 |
Enugu | 1.643 | 4.754 | 2.675 | 11.362 * | 3.599 | 1.345 | |
Low immune system | Abuja | 11.659 * | 3.505 | 9.720 * | 7.478 | 1.294 | 6.510 |
Enugu | 1.822 | 3.095 | 1.058 | 7.452 | 2.072 | 2.773 | |
Cancer | Abuja | 2.299 | 2.679 | 3.167 | 0.841 | 0.744 | 0.548 |
Enugu | 4.502 | 6.772 | 4.288 | 9.798 * | 1.850 | 2.236 | |
Depression | Abuja | 1.878 | 2.333 | 3.442 | 2.044 | 2.987 | 2.698 |
Enugu | 7.806 | 3.999 | 2.175 | 4.920 | 5.781 | 3.030 |
Age Group Most Affected by PAQ | Cities | Gender | Age | Income | Education | Occupation | Transportation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Less than 18 years | Abuja | 1.418 | 2.364 | 5.809 | 2.921 | 3.996 | 7.540 |
Enugu | 2.153 | 7.362 | 2.828 | 8.676 | 8.917 | 4.913 | |
18–24 | Abuja | 0.871 | 3.537 | 12.083 * | 9.264 | 0.861 | 5.234 |
Enugu | 2.997 | 5.787 | 3.537 | 1.670 | 5.933 | 3.371 | |
25–34 | Abuja | 0.703 | 3.061 | 6.403 | 9.087 | 1.379 | 9.140 |
Enugu | 0.516 | 9.120 | 3.222 | 5.028 | 3.546 | 2.806 | |
35–44 | Abuja | 1.771 | 6.026 | 9.401 | 5.627 | 4.030 | 5.337 |
Enugu | 2.813 | 12.397 * | 2.793 | 4.981 | 2.576 | 2.766 | |
45–54 | Abuja | 3.167 | 6.052 | 11.413 * | 2.884 | 1.437 | 3.978 |
Enugu | 2.276 | 3.741 | 1.371 | 4.582 | 4.522 | 9.145 | |
55–64 | Abuja | 1.928 | 10.528 * | 12.546 ** | 5.217 | 1.235 | 2.574 |
Enugu | 2.480 | 2.382 | 2.060 | 4.051 | 2.458 | 4.736 | |
65–74 | Abuja | 6.593 | 7.012 | 8.087 | 2.556 | 10.855 * | 12.172 * |
Enugu | 1.694 | 3.863 | 2.170 | 5.122 | 5.825 | 5.061 | |
75 years and above | Abuja | 1.961 | 8.049 | 3.336 | 11.820 * | 2.972 | 6.049 |
Enugu | 3.452 | 0.856 | 2.129 | 2.127 | 2.811 | 1.733 |
Cities | Gender | Age | Income | Education | Occupation | Transportation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abuja | 2.818 | 1.382 | 4.405 | 1.153 | 0.359 | 2.336 |
Enugu | 8.840 ** | 1.572 | 0.297 | 0.331 | 1.653 | 1.359 |
Cities | Gender | Age | Income | Education | Occupation | Transportation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abuja | 0.835 | 5.057 | 3.423 | 5.216 | 6.017 | 6.591 |
Enugu | 17.296 ** | 12.077 * | 2.637 | 9.198 * | 1.293 | 5.527 |
Source of Information | Cities | Gender | Age | Income | Education | Occupation | Transportation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Internet | Abuja | 3.632 | 2.623 | 4.823 | 0.527 | 2.568 | 3.251 |
Enugu | 3.527 | 12.022 * | 3.276 | 6.258 | 5.036 | 2.649 | |
Television | Abuja | 5.539 | 6.706 | 6.019 | 7.860 | 0.257 | 4.265 |
Enugu | 3.296 | 5.632 | 0.496 | 9.278* | 8.598 | 10.550 * | |
Social media | Abuja | 11.122 * | 8.738 | 3.368 | 2.022 | 2.683 | 7.484 |
Enugu | 2.753 | 18.540 ** | 4.123 | 5.762 | 12.053 ** | 6.745 | |
Radio | Abuja | 1.245 | 10.736 * | 2.288 | 0.994 | 1.748 | 1.153 |
Enugu | 2.076 | 1.912 | 4.820 | 10.640 * | 8.633 | 4.027 | |
Friends | Abuja | 5.670 | 9.319 * | 7.111 | 6.136 | 5.705 | 8.400 |
Enugu | 4.974 | 13.406 ** | 0.853 | 2.985 | 4.919 | 4.758 | |
Newspapers | Abuja | 0.578 | 3.248 | 5.371 | 2.574 | 3.925 | 8.907 |
Enugu | 2.617 | 4.874 | 3.245 | 1.847 | 6.326 | 5.421 | |
Posters | Abuja | 11.695 * | 1.839 | 7.199 | 2.099 | 4.873 | 5.668 |
Enugu | 5.067 | 10.389 * | 4.172 | 2.143 | 6.355 | 3.053 | |
Leaflets | Abuja | 3.282 | 3.790 | 3.852 | 2.764 | 5.218 | 4.057 |
Enugu | 1.796 | 5.337 | 1.875 | 2.967 | 5.204 | 1.002 | |
Magazines | Abuja | 1.029 | 1.582 | 10.811 * | 6.174 | 3.307 | 5.629 |
Enugu | 1.795 | 3.004 | 1.712 | 4.633 | 5.819 | 5.261 |
Abuja | Enugu | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Source of Information | Age Groups | Mean | SD | KW | Mean | SD | KW |
Internet | 18–34 | 1.92 | 0.988 | 2.623 ns | 1.79 | 1.051 | 12.022 * |
35 and over | 2.13 | 1.215 | 2.31 | 1.139 | |||
Television | 18–34 | 2.03 | 0.912 | 6.706 ns | 2.30 | 1.243 | 5.632 ns |
35 and over | 2.07 | 1.124 | 2.55 | 1.284 | |||
Social media | 18–34 | 1.97 | 1.032 | 8.738 ns | 1.89 | 0.968 | 18.540 ** |
35 and over | 2.24 | 1.165 | 2.58 | 1.066 | |||
Radio | 18–34 | 2.28 | 0.878 | 10.736 * | 2.51 | 1.260 | 1.912 ns |
35 and over | 2.22 | 1.207 | 2.50 | 1.182 | |||
Friends | 18–34 | 2.49 | 1.043 | 9.319* | 2.44 | 1.162 | 13.406 ** |
35 and over | 2.47 | 1.270 | 3.03 | 1.098 | |||
Newspapers | 18–34 | 2.75 | 1.150 | 3.248 ns | 2.75 | 1.299 | 4.874 ns |
35 and over | 2.71 | 1.335 | 3.22 | 1.240 | |||
Posters | 18–34 | 3.00 | 1.270 | 1.839 ns | 3.02 | 1.335 | 10.389 * |
35 and over | 2.96 | 0.988 | 3.22 | 1.133 | |||
Leaflets | 18–34 | 3.15 | 1.152 | 3.790 ns | 3.07 | 1.263 | 5.337 ns |
35 and over | 2.99 | 1.160 | 3.25 | 1.069 | |||
Magazines | 18–34 | 3.15 | 1.263 | 1.582 ns | 3.25 | 1.274 | 3.004 ns |
35 and over | 3.04 | 1.270 | 3.53 | 1.221 |
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Chukwu, T.M.; Morse, S.; Murphy, R.J. Perceived Health Impacts, Sources of Information and Individual Actions to Address Air Quality in Two Cities in Nigeria. Sustainability 2023, 15, 6124. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15076124
Chukwu TM, Morse S, Murphy RJ. Perceived Health Impacts, Sources of Information and Individual Actions to Address Air Quality in Two Cities in Nigeria. Sustainability. 2023; 15(7):6124. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15076124
Chicago/Turabian StyleChukwu, Timothy M., Stephen Morse, and Richard J. Murphy. 2023. "Perceived Health Impacts, Sources of Information and Individual Actions to Address Air Quality in Two Cities in Nigeria" Sustainability 15, no. 7: 6124. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15076124