Urban and peri-urban EcoHealth markers and health promotion intervention in Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Tariku Berhanu Desalegn
The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the EcoHealth markers and
health promotion interventions in the behaviour and practices of vegetables growers
in Addis Ababa. The objectives were to assess the urban and peri-urban community
members’ knowledge and practices on the existing environmental health
policies/regulations/guidelines, assess the perspectives of women and youth on urban
and peri-urban EcoHealth promotions and protections and evaluate the development
and implementation of the health promotion activities on waste water use by applying
an ecological model aimed at changing behaviour and by providing Bio-sand filter to
promote hand wash practice which helps to reduce potential health risks among urban
vegetable growers.
Both quantitative and qualitative descriptive researches were conducted to identify the
urban and peri urban community members’ knowledge and practices of the existing
environmental health regulators and the perspectives of women and the youth on
EcoHealth. Additional quasi experimental method; multiple baseline survey along with
the EcoHealth Stress Process promotion method was employed to identify stressors,
measure changes in environmental health promotion intervention and use of hand
wash (biosand filter for hand wash).
Six woredas from two subcities of the Addis Ababa City Administration were purposely
selected, and a total of 845 (98.9% response rate) households participated in the
quantitative study, while 142 community members (public sector offices, factories and establishments’ management and employee), participated in the qualitative survey.
For quasi experimental method, six settings/blocks (of which 3 sites were provided
with a bio-sand filter for hand washing) cultivated by 6 to 8 vegetable growers and their
family members, were included in the intervention (multiple baseline survey).
The findings revealed that about 77 percent of participants reported, knowledge of one
or more of the selected environmental health and EcoHealth regulations. Ownership
of assets and education tend to influence the public awareness of selected EcoHealth
and environmental health regulations. Women and youth found to be significant
contributors to better urban and peri-urban EcoHealth conditions and were the ones
primarily affected by environmental hazards. The intervention study results also
indicated evidence-based IEC interventions and ecological health promotion methods
proved useful in promoting EcoHealth in an urban environment. Moreover, the biosand
filter used to provide evidence of health promotion was found to be valuable for
wastewater treatment and significantly reduced chemical, physical and biological
contaminates from the wastewater.
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