WASTE DISPOSAL METHODS AND HEALTH STATUS OF HOUSEHOLDS IN UYO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA IN POST COVID-19 ERA

Abstract

The study investigated Waste Disposal Methods and Health Status of Households in Uyo Local GovernmentArea in Post Covid-19 Era. Three research questions were raised to guide the study. Descriptive surveyresearch design was adopted in the study. The population comprised of 1,265,000 people made up of allresidents in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. A sample size of 400 respondents was drawnusing Taro Yamane sampling formula and used to collect data for the study. Stratified and simple randomsampling techniques were employed to select the respondents. A structured questionnaire titled: WasteDisposal Methods and Health Status of Households Questionnaire (WDMHSHQ) was used for datacollection. The content of the instrument was validated by three experts in cognate disciplines all inUniversity of Uyo. Cronbach Alpha statistical analysis was used to determine the internal consistency of theinstrument and the analysis yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.79. Data collected was analysed using Meanand Standard Deviation. Findings revealed that burning of wastes (cluster mean = 3. 49), dumping of wastes(cluster mean = 3.50) and compost wastes (cluster mean = 3.38) all had negative effect on the health statusof households in Uyo Local Government Area in the Post Covid-19 Era with varying cluster mean valuesand standard deviation. Based on the findings, the researchers conclude that waste disposal methods havenegative effect on health status of households in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State in the postcovid-19 Era and therefore recommend amongst others that households should engage more in the compostwastes disposal method as it has less negative effect on the health status of households in the study area