The Survey of Knowledge, Attitude, and Performance Among Housewives of Kouhdasht City, Iran, About Solid Waste Recycling in 2019 Publisher

Summary: A study found most housewives lack recycling knowledge, urging better education for waste reduction. #Recycling #EnvironmentalHealth

Gravand A¹ ; Zamanialavijeh F² ; Hassanzadeh A³ ; Pourzamani H⁴
Source: Journal of Health System Research Published:2020

Abstract

Background: The increase in solid waste is the result of rapid population growth and the development of industries, and recycling is the way out of this crisis. Successful implementation of recycling requires awareness and training of human societies. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude, and performance of housewives in Kouhdasht City, Iran, regarding solid waste recycling in 2019. Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study, 403 housewives of Kouhdasht City were selected by multistage random sampling and completed the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) Questionnaire about recycling. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation, Fisher’s exact test, and chi-square test. Findings: The mean age of the women was 33.24 years. Knowledge about recycling was poor in 65.5% of them, moderate in 33.7%, and good in 0.8%. In terms of attitude, 7.4% were weak, 66.0% were moderate, and 26.6% were favorable. Performance was poor in 65.5%, moderate in 33.5%, and good in only 1%. Moreover, a strong positive linear relationship was observed between women's attitude and performance (r = 0.626, P = 0.001). Conclusion: The knowledge and performance of housewives in Kouhdasht regarding recycling were poor and their attitude was moderate. Informing citizens, especially housewives, about various ways of solid waste disposal in this city should be considered an important issue and must be on the agenda of the responsible organizations. © 2020, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.