Assessing the Knowledge and Attitude of Residents of an Urban Community in Relation to Health Performance of Housing in Kermanshah, Iran

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge and attitude of the staff of a university of medical sciences about housing health in Kermanshah, Iran. Materials and Methods: For this cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study, based on Morgan Table 100 people were randomly selected and knowledge and attitudes about housing health were assessed based on a researcher-made questionnaire in 2017. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software version 18 and paired t-test on Likert scale. Results: A total of 100 employees were studied, more than half of them (60%) were female and more in the group of 20–29 years. The mean scores of knowledge and attitude of the target group regarding housing health were 18.35 and 78.00, respectively. The mean score of knowledge in men and women is significantly different (P < 0.001). However, the attitude scores of the two groups were not statistically significant (P = 0.15). Although knowledge of housing quality was reasonable among respondents, the method of disposing of sanitary waste and housing maintenance was poor. The highest score of women's attitude was related to the groups with diploma and/or associate degree and the highest score of knowledge and attitude in men was related to the groups with bachelor's degree or higher. Conclusion: This study showed that people with higher education have better knowledge and attitudes about housing health than people with lower education. However, more research is needed to fully understand the link between housing and adverse health outcomes.