Residents’ Environmental Health Awareness in a Traditional City: Lessons from Osogbo, Nigeria

Abstract

Human activities within the environment have led to an increase in the number 
of environmental health challenges recorded in recent times. Accordingly, this 
study examined a significant aspect of environmental crisis: residents’ 
environmental health awareness. The study focused on the traditional city of 
Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. Data were obtained via questionnaire 
administered to 198 residents, who were systematically sampled from the three 
residential zones (65 from the core zone, 67 from the transition zone and 66 
from the suburban zone) of the city. The data analyzed involved frequency 
distributions, Chi-Square and ANOVA. 
 
According to the data obtained, majority of the respondents were young adults 
between ages 31 and 45 (52.5%). Also, 40.9% of the respondents were males, 
while majority were females (59.1%). Majority of the respondents earned 
between N70,000 and N149,999 (55.0%). It was found that level of awareness 
varied throughout Osogbo, with, most respondents being very aware of the 
listed environmental health measures based on the Relative Importance Index 
generated from the responses. Equally varying across the city was the level of 
effectiveness of environmental health measures that can engender positive 
environmental health responses, as only 6 out of the 13 existing measures were 
rated to be very effective by the respondents. 
 
Thus, this study recommends that environmental health bodies utilize 
approaches that may be suitable for each residential zone. This approach will 
raise awareness about environmental health among residents and enhance their 
understanding of environmental health. Furthermore, individuals, community
based organizations and the government should work together to provide 
environmental health facilities, as this will elicit more positive responses from 
residents.