The Determinant Factors of Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) Among Housewives in Allakuang Village, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Acute respiratory infection (ARI) ranks first in the ten most frequent diseases occurring in Allakuang Village during the last five years. The physical conditions and the density of pollution inside houses are risk factors that cause ARI. Homemakers are particularly vulnerable to ARI because most of their time is spent inside their houses. The aim of this study is to determine the factors that affect the incidence of ARI among homemakers, including the physical condition of the house (temperature, humidity, lighting, ventilation, ceiling condition, floor, walls, and the location of the kitchen), the pollutants inside the house (PM10, cooking fuel, tobacco smoke, and smoke mosquito coils), and the number of occupants. The sample used in this cross-sectionalstudy comprised 103 homemakers. The analysis was conducted using chi-square and multiple logistic regression tests. The results showed that several factors had significant correlations with ARI, such as PM10 concentration, the type of cooking fuel, and the use of mosquito coils. Furthermore, the results of the multivariate analysis showed that the most influential factor that caused ARI was the type ofcooking fuel. Homemakers who used firewood and kerosene as their cooking fuel were47times more at risk of suffering ARI compared with those who used gas fuel. Hence, people are recommended to reduce the use of cooking fuel that produces smoke, to the kitchen from the family room, and to eliminate the use of mosquito coils. Keywords: PM10, acute respiratory infections, cooking fuels, homemaker