Abstract View
Ordinal Logistic Regression Analysis between Household Energy (Agricultural Residues, Wood and Dung) Consumption and Women's Health in Rural Punjab
NABEELA FARAH, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Abstract Number: 280
Working Group: Health-Related Aerosols
Abstract
Energy is a basic essential of human life. Around the world all domestic tasks and energy related activities in household are women centric. Since, naturally women get involved in household responsibilities with fuel collection and cooking, in this way the energy utilization has certain effects on women’s health. Due to socially determined measures, women accept a better extent of the burden of low quality fuel utilize. This study examined the ill-health effects of household energy consumption in three districts of Punjab (Pakistan). The exposure of smoke and health outcomes were self-reported. Data collected from 480 women was analyzed by using ordinal logistic regression model. The odd ratios for agricultural waste, wood and dung showed significant relationship for various diseases. It was concluded that the use of inferior biomass fuels was significantly positively associated with chest pain, coughing, asthma, breathing problems, headache and eye allergy. Increasing the share of households relying on inferior biomass had implications for human health particularly for women health. Less expensive fuels were more inflammatory for a longer time and emission for more smoke so the result of chronic or acute diseases. It was studied an unfortunate crucial point for women’s health. So the study recommends management and prevention of such drastic health hazards to avoid vicious circle of rural women’s health.