The impacts of cooking and indoor air quality assessment in the southwestern region of Bangladesh

The main objective of this study is to assess the impacts of cooking and indoor air quality (IAQ) in the southwestern region of Bangladesh. Here we report and compare the IAQ in considering a total of eight kitchens and living rooms of four selected households (HHs) in Jashore city and suburb area, the southwest district of Bangladesh. Air quality parameters, such as particulate matter (PM_2.5) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), were assessed continuously for 24 h. In addition, Carbon dioxide (CO₂) was evaluated in different phases during the study period. PM_2.5, VOC, and CO₂ levels were ranged from 18.52 to 207 μg/m³, 7.95-35.66 ppm, and 1061-2459 mg/m³, respectively, in the indoor cooking HHs. Conversely, while the average concentration was found between 20.63 and 23.72 μg/m³ PM_2.5, 11.18-12.36 ppm VOC, and 1097-1747 mg/m³ CO₂ in the outdoor cooking HHs. A significant increase in CO₂ due to kitchen activities (cooking, frying, boiling) was observed that ranged between 5 and 77% compared to the background level. The calculated range of toxicity potential (TP) values was between 0.8 and 8.3 for PM_2.5 in the HHs. In most of the observations, PM_2.5, VOC, and CO₂ exceed the standard values. The study reports that well ventilation systems and clean fuel use significantly reduce the indoor air contaminants level. Our study offers new insights about the IAQ of the southwest region of Bangladesh, particularly for suburbs and urban setups, and provides a background for further study, and decision-making. It will serve as a reference for the formulation and implementation of policies to improve air quality.

Educational needs on safe motherhood from the perspective of suburban women: A qualitative study

Background

Maternal mortality resulting from pregnancy and delivery complications is a sensitive indicator of women's status in the society, access to care services, and sufficiency and quality of healthcare and is the major indicator of a country's developmental status. The present study aimed at determination of educational needs regarding safe motherhood from suburban women's perspective.

Method

This qualitative study with conventional content analysis approach was conducted in suburban healthcare centers of Alborz University of medical sciences from 23 October to 22 December 2019. The participants included 15 eligible Iranian suburban women who were selected through purposive sampling. The data were collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Data were analyzes with MAXQDA10 software.

Results

Three main themes emerged from the analysis of the data (barriers against safe pregnancy, accountability multidimensional training, and threats and opportunities of distance learning), six categories, 11 subcategories and 547 codes.

Discussion

The results indicated that suburban women were less probable to be present in healthcare centers and receive the required information compared to their peers due to their conditions; provision of accessible training services appropriated to their conditions can greatly contribute to elimination of these problems.

Is immigrant neighborhood inequality less pronounced in suburban areas?

We investigate suburbanization and neighborhood inequality among 14 immigrant groups using census tract data from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey. Immigrant neighborhood inequality is defined here as the degree to which immigrants reside in neighborhoods that are poorer than the neighborhoods in which native whites reside. Using city and suburb Gini coefficients which reflect the distributions of groups across neighborhoods with varying poverty rates, we find that the immigrant-white gap is attenuated in the suburbs. This finding applies to most of the nativity groups and remains after accounting for metropolitan context, the segregation of poverty, and group-specific segregation levels, poverty rates, and acculturation characteristics. Despite reduced neighborhood inequality in the suburbs, large group differences persist. A few immigrant groups achieve residential parity or better vis-à-vis suburban whites while others experience high levels of neighborhood inequality and receive marginal residential returns on suburban location.