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“Our Land Is Shrinking”: Concerns and Misconceptions Impeding Uptake of Climate Risk Mitigation Policies in Bududa and Butalejja Districts in Eastern Uganda
Roy William Mayega,
Nathan Tumuhamye,
Grace Mongo Bua,
Julius Ssentongo,
Harriet Adong,
Kathleen Giles,
Stella Neema,
Christine Muhumuza,
William Bazeyo,
James Fishkin,
Lynn Atuyambe
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
109-120
Received:
30 April 2021
Accepted:
31 May 2021
Published:
9 June 2021
Abstract: Background: Globally, the incidence of disasters is rising. Uganda is one of several countries experiencing an upturn in adverse climate events. Although Uganda’s government has implemented several strategies to mitigate land-use and population pressure-related climate adversity in high-risk zones, communities have not responded to them sufficiently, implying a resilience gap. The objective of this study was to describe the concerns and misconceptions impeding community uptake of climate risk mitigation policies in a rural area in Eastern Uganda. Methods: The study was conducted in Butalejja and Bududa districts in the Mt. Elgon region of Eastern Uganda that is prone to recurrent land-slides and floods. The design was a qualitative study, consisting of 15 small group discussions per district, nested within a Deliberative Poll®. Key government of Uganda policy options on sustainable settlement and family planning were presented to participants who then discussed them with the guidance of a moderator. Results: Not only were participants distrustful of how the land from which they are evacuated would be managed, but they also resented being resettled in unfamiliar places with substantially different topography, low soil fertility, and at a great distance from their ancestral sites and social networks. A latent theme from the data was the pervasive expectation by communities to be assisted by government in all areas of their livelihood needs. Key barriers to Family Planning included lack of safety guarantees, helplessness in the event of a side effect, failure by communities to link family size to resource constraints, and feelings of entitlement to assistance among people with large families. The misconceptions were fueled by a large information asymmetry between the community members and the policy makers. Conclusion: Lasting solutions to climate risk in rural communities will require continuous information-driven dialogue between community members and implementers to address major misconceptions and information asymmetries regarding risk mitigation policies.
Abstract: Background: Globally, the incidence of disasters is rising. Uganda is one of several countries experiencing an upturn in adverse climate events. Although Uganda’s government has implemented several strategies to mitigate land-use and population pressure-related climate adversity in high-risk zones, communities have not responded to them sufficientl...
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Healthcare Seeking Behavior of Mothers or Care Givers for Common Childhood Illness of Under Five Years Children and Associated Factors in Kimbibit District, Ethiopia, 2020
Habtamu Asrat,
Takele Gezahagn,
Zalalem Kaba,
Robert Wondimu,
Tola Abera
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
121-134
Received:
24 June 2021
Accepted:
21 July 2021
Published:
29 July 2021
Abstract: Mothers' healthcare seeking behavior is a mother's response for sign and symptoms of her child illnesses to reduce severity, complication or even death after she recognized child's illness and if she reported visiting any health institutions. Healthcare seeking behavior of mothers or care givers for common childhood illness of under-five children in Kimbibit District, Ethiopia was assessed in this study. A community based cross-sectional study with mixed method approach was employed. Face to face interview for quantitative and focus group discussion for qualitative study were employed. Inductive thematic analysis was employed for qualitative data. For quantitative part, data was checked, cleaned, coded and entered into Epi Data version 3.1 and then, exported to SPSS version 20. Bivariable analysis was done and variables with p-value< 0.25 on bivariate analysis were entered to multivariable logistic regression model. Significance was checked at 95% CI with p<0.05. A total of 596 respondents with a response rate of 98.8% were participated in the study. The overall healthcare seeking behavior of mothers or care givers for common childhood illness was 87.5% (95% CI: 84.2%, 90.6%). Being urban residents (AOR=2.89; 95% CI=1.83-6.74), child's age 12 to 23 months (AOR=5.03; 95% CI=1.55-9.28), mothers who completed primary school (AOR=4.60: 95% CI; 3.21-6.53), median monthly family income ≥1000 ETB (AOR=4.53; 95% CI; 3.63-9.26), perceived severity of illness (AOR=2.58; 95% CI; 0.79-7.33) and distance from health facilities (AOR=6.59; 95% CI; 2.43-11.85) were the significant predictors of mothers’ healthcare seeking behavior for; common childhood illnesses. In this study; it was revealed that healthcare seeking from health facilities was delayed. Place of residence, educational status of mothers or care givers, child's age, average monthly income of family, perceived severity of illness and distance from health facilities were independent predictors of healthcare seeking behaviors.
Abstract: Mothers' healthcare seeking behavior is a mother's response for sign and symptoms of her child illnesses to reduce severity, complication or even death after she recognized child's illness and if she reported visiting any health institutions. Healthcare seeking behavior of mothers or care givers for common childhood illness of under-five children i...
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E-cigarette in Malaysia: Reasons for Initiating of Electronic Cigarettes Among Hospital and Clinic Patients and Visitors
Abu Bakar Rahman,
Mohamad Irwan Sai’din,
Nurashma Juatan,
Manimaran Krishnan,
Zaikiah Mohd Zin,
Normawati Ahmad,
Mohd Yusoff Adon,
Siti Fathiah Mohamed
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, July 2021
Pages:
135-141
Received:
3 May 2021
Accepted:
24 May 2021
Published:
23 August 2021
Abstract: The prevalence of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) use has been increased and became a global concern. This cross-sectional study among adults in Malaysia determined the knowledge of e-cigarettes, the association between the factors of initiating e-cigarettes use and usage status, the predicting factors of initiating e-cigarettes use and the reasons for the users to stop using it. A total of 1254 respondents completed a self-constructed questionnaire on socio-demographics, knowledge, reasons for e-cigarettes initiation and cessation. Results showed that the majority of them (73.6%) were aware of e-cigarette's existence, while 13.2% were e-cigarettes users. A significant association was found between curiosity to try and usage status in which former user has a higher curiosity to try (55.7%) than the currents users (p=0.004). A variety of flavours has a significant association between usage status as current users (58.8%) used e-cigarettes due to a variety of flavours than the former users (38.6%) (p=0.044). The findings showed that curiosity to try and e-cigarettes are safer are the predictors of initiating e-cigarettes. The respondents who believe that e-cigarettes are safer than tobacco cigarettes have 6.12 times chance to initiate using e-cigarette when considering other factors (OR=6.12, p=0.018). Meanwhile, those who used e-cigarettes because of the curiosity to try had 0.32 times the chance to initiate e-cigarettes use (OR=0.32, p=0.018). This study observed a low knowledge related to e-cigarettes and the significant predicting factor of initiating were a curiosity to try and e-cigarettes is safer. This study reported the main reason smokers quit using e-cigarettes was it did not give satisfaction compared to conventional cigarettes, while for non-smoker was due to worry about the danger of e-cigarettes. Therefore, appropriate information on e-cigarettes should be adequately disseminated to the general population to promote healthy behaviours and positive attitudes toward smoking.
Abstract: The prevalence of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) use has been increased and became a global concern. This cross-sectional study among adults in Malaysia determined the knowledge of e-cigarettes, the association between the factors of initiating e-cigarettes use and usage status, the predicting factors of initiating e-cigarettes use and the re...
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