Awareness of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning among Ghanaians : A Case of Residents in the Ho Municipality of the Volta Region

This study aimed to determine the level of awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning among residents of the Ho Municipality in Ghana's Volta Region. The population was made up of residents of Ho, and the study utilised a descriptive approach. A total of 569 people were chosen utilising stratified and convenience sampling procedures. Google Forms was used to collect data, and SPSS was used to analyse it. The findings suggested that respondents had a low level of awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning. In addition, the majority of the respondents' apartments lacked smoke or CO alarms, making them more vulnerable to CO poisoning. Finally, the study discovered that CO poisoning awareness programmes were rare in the Municipality. Therefore, the study recommended, among other things, more CO poisoning awareness programmes. © 2021 Elixir All rights reserved. Elixir Pollution 155 (2021) 55412-55418 Pollution Available online at www.elixirpublishers.com (Elixir International Journal) Michael Dabi et al./ Elixir Pollution 155 (2021) 55412-55418 55413 Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when carbon monoxide builds up in your bloodstream. When too much carbon monoxide is in the air, your body replaces the oxygen in your red blood cells with carbon monoxide. This situation can lead to severe tissue damage or even death. Hence, any attempt at studying indoor air pollution and its impact on people's health in any environment is justified since the global population explosion may lead to more indoor pollution gases. These pollutions, with a focus on CO, may be as a result of the use of various fuels for cooking, the place of cooking, indoor smoking, outside smoke coming inside the house, ventilation in the home, and also the floor space per person in the sleeping rooms, the poor household environmental condition responsible for the occurrence of diseases as well as office space and chemicals used in factories. Most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana, still depend extensively on unprocessed solid cooking fuels, with many people exposed daily to harmful emissions and other health risks. Researches by the World Bank in 2000 and currently by Global Resolve reveal that indoor air pollution (carbon monoxide) due to the use of solid fuel in Ghana is a serious problem, and about 96% of the Ghanaian populace use this type of fuel. According to the report, Carbon monoxide poisoning is among the top five environmental risks to public health, contributing to an annual 8.5 million deaths in Africa. In terms of environmental contributors to ill health, indoor smoke is responsible for one-third of premature mortality and disability worldwide, second only to unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene. Even though carbon monoxide poisoning has been well documented, especially regarding the dangers and symptoms, the recent developments in the use of fuel-burning appliances have increased dangerous exposures to carbon monoxide throughout building environments. The danger is that carbon monoxide is impossible to detect by an exposed person because it is colourless, tasteless, odourless, and nonirritating. Again, the frequency of health problems associated with sub-lethal levels of CO is challenging to quantify. However, it is generally agreed that informing users about symptoms and suggesting annual inspection of CO producing devices will reduce CO poisoning. This short review has shown several related studies on carbon mono oxide risk and awareness across populations in several countries. These studies have revealed an alarming ignorance of the threat of CO poisoning and a close link to morbidity and health-related issues. However, there remains to date no documentation of such studies in Ghanaian society. Given the rising use of CO-emitting gadgets and lifestyles that encourage CO poisoning and increasing population and population density, this study seeks to ascertain the level of awareness of CO poisoning among Ghanaian citizens, especially in Ho and its environs. Materials and Methods Study Area The study was done in the Ho Municipality. Ho is the capital city of the Ho Municipal District and the Volta Region of Ghana. The Municipality shares boundaries with Adaklu and Agotime-Ziope Districts to the South, Ho West District to the North and West and the Republic of Togo to the East. The population of Ho Municipality according to the 2010 Population and Housing Census was 177, 281. About 62 percent of the population resides in urban localities. The Municipality has a household population of 172,068, with a total number of 49,826 households. The average household size of the Municipality is 3.6 persons. Children constitute the largest proportion of households and account for 34.1 percent. Spouses form about 10.7 percent of households. Nuclear families (head, spouse(s) and children) constitute 23.4 percent of the total number of homes in the Municipality. The housing stock of Ho Municipality is 31,832, representing 8 percent of the total number of houses in the Volta Region. The average population per house is 5.6. Over half (55.4%) of dwellings in the Municipality are compound houses; 31.9 percent of all dwelling units are separate houses, and 5.8 percent are semi-detached houses. About two-fifth (43.2) of the dwelling units in the Municipality are owned by members of the household. Less than one percent (0.9 %) of the dwelling units is owned through mortgage schemes. The primary construction material for outer walls of dwelling units in the Municipality is cement blocks/concrete, accounting for 73.5 percent, with mud-brick/earth constituting 18.7 percent. Cement (89.5%) and mud/earth (6.4%) are the two main materials used to construct floors of dwelling units in the Municipality. Metal sheets (85.4%) account for the main roofing material for dwelling units in the Municipality. One room constitutes the highest (89.6%) percentage of sleeping rooms occupied by households in the Municipality's housing units. About 5.9 percent of households with ten or more members occupy single rooms. The two main lighting sources in the Municipality are electricity (76.4%) and Kerosene lamp (17.8%). The main fuel source for cooking for most households in the Municipality is charcoal (36 %). Research Strategy This present study employed the descriptive research design. This method was deemed appropriate for the study since not much was yet known about the research problem in the study area. In using this method, the researchers could source data from participants in their natural environment without any form of manipulation. This enabled them to provide insight into the research problem by giving answers to the following questions:  Who suffers exposure to CO poisoning?  What is the mode of exposure?  When does poisoning occur? and  How can CO poisoning be reduced among participants? Answers to these questions were collected from respondents using the survey method, and the responses analysed for frequencies and percentages. Hence, generally, the descriptive research aided in specifying the nature of CO poisoning in the Ho Municipality and enabled the researchers to find answers to the identified research problem in the best possible way within acceptable limits. This paved way for the generalisation of the study results to other localities within the study area. Population and sample of the study The population was heterogeneous in nature. It included residents living in different parts of Ho Municipal, different age groups, diverse occupation groups, socio-economic classes, and different residential accommodation in the Municipality. The total population of the study consist of the total population of the Ho Municipality. According to the Ghana Statistical Service, the population of Ho Municipality was 177, 281 in 2010 (GSS, 2010). However, the population of Ghana has grown by 19.544% over the years. Applying the Michael Dabi et al./ Elixir Pollution 155 (2021) 55412-55418 55414 population growth rate to the GSS, 2010 population of Ho municipal (177281), and using the 19.544% growth rate, the study's target population is estimated to be 223, 614. Using a margin of error of 5%, a confidence level of 95%, a population size of 223, 614 and a response distribution of 80%, the minimum sample size is determined to be 384. But being an online survey, respondents exceeded the minimum sample size of 384. The final sample size therefore used was 569. Sampling Techniques The study used a combination of probability sampling and non-probability sampling methods in selecting respondents. Stratified sampling under the probability sampling method was first done by grouping respondents into individual strata based on their area of residence. This was followed by convenience sampling under the non-probability sampling method. Convenience sampling was used to enable the researchers to collect needed information at their convenience without the complications of using a randomised sample. Data Collection Tools/Instruments An online structured questionnaire using Google Forms was the main tool used in collecting data from the respondents. They were used because it was a relatively cheaper, quick and efficient way of obtaining information from respondents than other methods like interviews and focus group discussions. Also, using the questionnaire gave the students' time to focus on other aspects of the study since it did not require them to be filled in their presence. The ease in analysing questionnaire data was also considered in selecting it as the main data collection tool for the study. The items in the questionnaire were divided into different sections based on the demographic information of the respondents and specific objectives of the study. The first section collected the demographic information of the participants. Part two of the questionnaire collected data on CO poisoning awareness among various groups of people. Section C sought respondents' view on safety mea