Secondhand smoking, knowledge/attitudes and socioeconomic status among married Bangladeshi women: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of research on knowledge/attitudes regarding the dangers of exposure to secondhand smoking (SHS) among women. The relationship between exposure to SHS, socioeconomic status (SES) and knowledge/attitudes regarding the risks of SHS has often been ignored. We therefore aimed to examine (1) whether SES and exposure to SHS were independently associated with knowledge/attitudes regarding the risks of SHS; and (2) whether women with low SES and exposure to SHS were uniquely disadvantaged in terms of deficient knowledge and more dismissive attitudes towards the risks of SHS. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study in the Rajshahi district, Bangladesh. METHODS: A total of 541 women were interviewed. Knowledge of and attitudes towards the risks of SHS were the outcomes of interest. RESULTS: A majority of the respondents were exposed to SHS at home (49.0%). Only 20.1% had higher levels of knowledge, and only 37.3% had non-dismissive attitudes towards the risks of SHS. Participants in the low SES group and those exposed to SHS had lower odds of higher knowledge and their attitudes towards the risks of SHS were more dismissive. Regarding deficient levels of knowledge and scores indicating more dismissive attitudes, women in the low SES group and who were exposed to SHS were not uniquely disadvantaged. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to SHS and low SES were independently associated with deficient knowledge and scores indicating more dismissive attitudes. Regarding knowledge/attitudes, the negative effect of exposure to SHS extended across all socioeconomic backgrounds and was not limited to women in either the low or the high SES group.

Knowledge, Attitude and Exposure to Secondhand Smoking Among Women in Rural Setting

“…44.1% were in the age group 25-34 years with the mean age of 31.57±7.582 years which is very similar to another study finding in Bangladesh, where majority of the participants were between 25-39 years 9 . Regarding educational qualification, majority (27.2%) had Secondary education which is a lower than the findings of other Bangladeshi studies which revealed 35.1% and 59.9% of the participants had secondary education respectively 5,10 . In our study, most of the participants (87.2%) were house-wives which has inverse relation with another study in Bangladesh where only 6.8% participants were housewives 10 .…”

“…Regarding educational qualification, majority (27.2%) had Secondary education which is a lower than the findings of other Bangladeshi studies which revealed 35.1% and 59.9% of the participants had secondary education respectively 5,10 . In our study, most of the participants (87.2%) were house-wives which has inverse relation with another study in Bangladesh where only 6.8% participants were housewives 10 . Possibly this dissimilarity was due to this study was conducted only in rural setting of Bangladesh.…”

Does second-hand smoke associate with tooth loss among older Japanese? JAGES cross-sectional study

“…When examining the association of SHS on tooth loss among the older population, possible confounding factors (e.g. the socioeconomic status impact on SHS 33,34 and tooth loss 35,36 ) must be carefully reviewed. For retired older people, the opportunity to meet friends could increase the experience of SHS.…”

Factors associated with knowledge about the health effects of exposure to secondhand smoke among youth in Bangladesh

“…This finding is consistent with another study from Bangladesh that reported a medium level of knowledge of the study participants. 15 Furthermore, nearly one third (30.5%) of participants had good knowledge which is slightly higher (20.2%) than the aforementioned study. 15 On the contrary, Sun et al in Mauritius reported that less than two thirds of the participants (63.2%) had good knowledge of SHS.…”

“…15 Furthermore, nearly one third (30.5%) of participants had good knowledge which is slightly higher (20.2%) than the aforementioned study. 15 On the contrary, Sun et al in Mauritius reported that less than two thirds of the participants (63.2%) had good knowledge of SHS. 16 Possible reasons that can be attributed to this difference of response are demographic variation of the study population and study tools.…”