Enhancing solid waste management practices in rural communities of Kota Setar, Kedah: exploring the relationship between knowledge, attitudes and health risks

Shafie @ Hassan, Athirah Edayu (2024) Enhancing solid waste management practices in rural communities of Kota Setar, Kedah: exploring the relationship between knowledge, attitudes and health risks. [Project Paper] (Submitted)

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Abstract

Introduction: Improper solid waste management (SWM) is a worldwide concern due to its severe effects on public health and the environment. Exploring the knowledge, attitude, practice level and health risks among the rural community is necessary towards the development of an effective SWM strategy. Objective: This study aimed to assess the SWM practice among the rural community in Kota Setar, Kedah and its association with their knowledge, attitude and health risks. Method: A multistage sampling and cross-sectional survey was used to collect the data. A modified questionnaire was distributed by using convenient sampling until the 210 respondents were obtained. The waste generation and composition were sampled from 30 houses. Data collected were analysed using SPSS. Result and Discussion: Average waste generated for weekdays (5 days) was 52.57 kg/ day and 58.11 kg/ day for weekends (2 days). The common waste collected was food waste. Majority of the respondents (N=148, 70.48%) disposed of solid waste by open burning. The study showed that a high number of the respondents had a good level of knowledge (N=206, 98.1%) and attitude (N=195, 92.9%) but a poor level of practice (N=131, 62.4%). Moreover,98.1% or 206 respondents have a good level of knowledge of health risks associated with SWM. About 67.1% (N=141) had encountered vector-carrying diseases or rodents in waste dumping sites. There was a significant association between knowledge level with age, educational level and location, practice level with legality status of dumping sites, location and monthly income and knowledge level on health risk with distance house to the nearest disposal area. (p<0.05). The attitude level was not significantly associated with any sociodemographic factor (p>0.05). Furthermore, associations were found between knowledge with attitude and attitude with practice. Conclusion: This study reveals that the rural community have a good level of knowledge and attitude but poor practices on SWM. Their knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) were associated with sociodemographic factors. Therefore, a future improvement in KAP among rural communities needs to incorporate a thorough understanding of those factors for more effective outcomes. Keywords: knowledge, attitude, practice, health risk, rural

Item Type:	Project Paper
Faculty:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Science
Depositing User:	Ms Norafizah Radzuan
Date Deposited:	28 Apr 2025 08:12
Last Modified:	28 Apr 2025 08:12
URI:	http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/2360

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