Abstract

This study identified health hazards associated with indoor air pollution (IAP) in Karachi. The main purpose of the paper was to examine the extent to which female domestic cook experience health threats related with cooking environment, and to understand their perceptions of the link between IAP exposure and poor health outcomes. One hundred female domestic cook in Karachi City, Pakistan, were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire interview method; educational level, oven and fuel types were used as proxy determinants of class, based on educational level, respondents were categorized into three classes: illiterate, graduate and above, and in-between (from level one to level 12). It was found that the higher the educational level the respondents had, the more likely they were to be aware of health effects associated with IAP. The author drew a conclusion that respondents with minimum levels of education, using wood fired mud-ovens, were more likely to be exposed to IAP and, as a consequence, had greater health risks than other women.

Key words: Health hazards, indoor air pollution, women, Karachi.