Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of tertiary education students in regard to air pollution in Windhoek, Namibia: a cross sectional study

Abstract Background: Knowing the residents' knowledge, attitude, and practices to air pollution is necessary for developing interventions specific to that population. Air pollution remains a neglected environmental concern in Windhoek, Namibia and people’s perceptions about air pollution and health have not been documented. This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes and practices of tertiary students to air pollution in Windhoek. Methods: Students from five tertiary institutions in Windhoek, Namibia were included in cross sectional study. A previously validated structured questionnaire; designed to collect information on knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding air pollution was used to collect data from 321 randomly selected study participants. Results: More than half (59.4%) of the study participants thought that air pollution was a major problem, while over 90% knew that air pollution could negatively impact health. The media was found to be the main source of information for study participants (91.1%). Despite having the knowledge, less than a third (27%) of the respondents regularly took action out of concern of air pollution. There was a statistically significant association between knowledge, attitudes, and practices to air pollution (all P < 0.05). Conclusions: Air pollution interventions targeting tertiary students should be aimed at informing them on ways in which they could contribute individually and collectively to reducing air pollution and its negative effects.