Knowledge of, Attitudes toward, and Practices regarding Indoor Pollution at Kuwait University

Abstract

Despite the increasing recognition of the importance of indoor air pollution, there have been few attempts to delineate the knowledge of and attitudes towards indoor air pollution, as well as the use of said knowledge and the effect of the attitudes on practice. This study sought to measure these attributes in a representative sample of students and teachers at Kuwait University using a self-administered questionnaire. Overall, the mean values for knowledge and attitudes were 7.88/19 and 3.89/5 respectively, indicating low knowledge and sub-optimal attitudes. The mean value for polluting practices was rather high at 1.05/2. Disappointingly, these results are very similar to those obtained in the previous surveys. Newspapers and magazines (65.8%) were the main source of information, followed by radio and television (62.4%). Teachers were significantly (p < 0.001) more knowledgeable and less likely to engage in polluting practices as compared to the students. Females scored significantly higher (p < 0.001) than males in attitude but were also significantly (p < 0.001) more likely to engage in polluting practices. Participants in colleges of Education and Sharia scored significantly (p < 0.05) higher in knowledge compared to those in Medicine and Allied Health, as well as Science and Engineering disciplines. However, the latter were also significantly more likely (p < 0.001) to engage in polluting practices than Medicine and Allied Health, and Law and Arts students. Participants in Medicine and Allied Health scored significantly lower (p < 0.001) on the attitude scale than those in Law and Arts, Education and Sharia, Social Science and Business Administration, and Science and Engineering. A significant Pearson correlation (0.314, p < 0.001) was found between knowledge and attitude. Similarly, a significant negative correlation (−0.067, p < 0.05) was observed between attitudes and engaging in polluting practices. Further research into the dynamics that influences the decision on whether to engage in polluting practices is needed. Also another How to cite this paper: Al-Khamees, N. A. (2018). Knowledge of, Attitudes toward, and Practices regarding Indoor Pollution at Kuwait University. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 6, 146-157.