Table 1
Questionnaire main parts and questions.
| PART | MAIN COMPONENTS |
|---|---|
| A | Preferred language for the survey, gender, ethnicity, and province of residence. |
| B | Type of dwelling in which the participant resides, if the dwelling had a ceiling and how many rooms in the dwelling, if there is running water and a flush toilet. Also, whether in the dwelling anyone in the household had a permanent job/income and/or received a social grant, how many people live in the dwelling (the month before Hard Lockdown), and how many of those children were under five years of age. |
| C | Main H the type of fuel used for heating and cooking, ventilation, presence of mould/dampness, animals, and environmental tobacco smoke and incense in the dwelling. |
| D | Anyone in the household had seen a nurse/doctor before (the month before) and during Hard Lockdown for the following health outcomes: dry cough, wet cough, hay fever, wheeze, shortness of breath. |
| E | Has anyone in the household been tested for COVID-19 Has anyone in the household been tested and found to be positive for COVID-19? |
| F | During Hard Lockdown, was it more difficult to make ends meet financially Are you aware of the health risks from burning wood/coal/paraffin indoors? |
Table 2
Study sample descriptive statistics (N = 2 505). Lockdown refers to Lockdown Levels 5 and 4.
| VARIABLE | FREQUENCY N (%) |
|---|---|
| Province of residence | |
| Eastern Cape | 284 (11) |
| Gauteng | 1055 (42) |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 662 (26) |
| Western Cape | 504 (20) |
| Gender | |
| Female | 1409 (56) |
| Male | 1096 (44) |
| Ethnicity | |
| Black African | 1804 (72) |
| Coloured (South African term for “of Mixed Ancestry”) | 304 (12) |
| Indian/Asian | 106 (4) |
| White | 291 (12) |
| Living Standard Measure (LSM) | |
| LSM 1–4 | 250 (10) |
| LSM 5–7 | 599 (24) |
| LSM 8–10 | 1656 (66) |
| Type of dwelling | |
| House | 1947 (78) |
| Flat | 230 (9) |
| Shared accommodation, e.g., hostel | 31 (1) |
| Shack | 217 (9) |
| Room in backyard | 58 (2) |
| Traditional hut | 19 (1) |
| Presence of ceiling in dwelling | |
| Yes | 1923 (77) |
| No | 582 (23) |
| Anyone in household have a permanent job before lockdown | |
| Yes | 1976 (79) |
| No | 529 (21) |
| Anyone in household receive any type of government social grant | |
| Yes | 1277 (51) |
| No | 1228 (49) |
| Running water inside dwelling | |
| Yes | 2075 (82) |
| No | 430 (17) |
| Flush toilet inside dwelling | |
| Yes | 2033 (81) |
| No | 472 (19) |
| Number of people live in dwelling before lockdown | |
| 0–4 | 1510 (60) |
| 5–10 | 961 (38) |
| >10 | 34 (2) |
| Were there 5-year-old and younger children who live in dwelling before lockdown | |
| Yes | 1098 (44) |
| No | 1407 (56) |
Table 3
Household air pollution sources including fuel use and related variables the month before and during Lockdown Levels 5 and 4 (N = 2 505).
| VARIABLE | A MONTH BEFORE LOCKDOWN LEVELS 5 AND 4 | DURING LOCKDOWN LEVELS 5 AND 4 |
|---|---|---|
| FREQUENCY | FREQUENCY | |
| N (%) | N (%) | |
| Main energy source for cooking | ||
| Coal | 23 (1) | 23 (1) |
| Electricity | 1891 (75) | 1857 (74) |
| Gas | 385 (15) | 410 (16) |
| Paraffin | 109 (4) | 117 (5) |
| Wood | 97 (4) | 98 (4) |
| Main energy source for heating | ||
| Animal dung | 12 (0.5) | 9 (0.4) |
| Coal | 45 (2) | 58 (2) |
| Electricity | 1887 (75) | 1824 (73) |
| Gas | 231 (9) | 261 (10) |
| Paraffin | 151 (6) | 161 (6) |
| Wood | 179 (7) | 192 (8) |
| Open windows and doors to ventilate | ||
| Yes | 2313 (92) | 2240 (89) |
| No | 192 (8) | 265 (11) |
| Presence of mould/dampness in dwelling | ||
| Yes | 669 (28) | 673 (27) |
| No | 1806 (72) | 1832 (73) |
| Presence of animals in dwelling | ||
| Yes | 841 (34) | 726 (29) |
| No | 1664 (66) | 1779 (71) |
| Presence of ETS (smoke/vape) in dwelling | ||
| Yes | 776 (31) | 686 (27) |
| No | 1729 (69) | 1819 (73) |
| Burn incense in dwelling | ||
| Yes | 895 (36) | 810 (32) |
| No | 1610 (64) | 1695 (68) |
Table 4
Generalized McNemar’s test for type of cooking fuel used before and during Lockdown Levels 5 and 4.
| COOKING FUEL DURING LOCKDOWN | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (contribution to χ2) | |||||||
| Coal | Electricity | Gas | Paraffin | Wood | Total | ||
| Cooking fuel before lockdown | Coal | 16 (–) | 1 (1.8) | 3 (3) | 2 (0.3) | 1 (0.3) | 23 |
| Electricity | 4 (1.8) | 1797 (–) | 66 (4.9) | 13 (1.8) | 11 (0.2) | 1891 | |
| Gas | 0 (3) | 43 (4.9) | 338 (–) | 3 (0.2) | 1 (0) | 385 | |
| Paraffin | 1 (0.3) | 7 (1.8) | 2 (0.2) | 95 (–) | 4 (0) | 109 | |
| Wood | 2 (0.3) | 9 (0.2) | 1 (0) | 4 (0) | 81 (–) | 97 | |
| Total | 23 | 1857 | 410 | 117 | 98 | 2505 | |
| χ2 | P-VALUE | ||||||
| Symmetry | 12.52 | 0.252 | |||||
| Stuart-Maxwell Marginal Homogeneity | 8.18 | 0.085 | |||||
Table 5
Generalized McNemar’s test for type of heating fuel used before and during Lockdown Levels 5 and 4.
| HEATING FUEL DURING LOCKDOWN | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (contribution to χ2) | ||||||||
| Animal dung | Coal | Electricity | Gas | Paraffin | Wood | Total | ||
| Heating fuel before lockdown | Animal dung | 5 (–) | 1 (0.3) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 3 (0.2) | 12 |
| Coal | 2 (0.3) | 33 (–) | 5 (4.3) | 1 (0) | 4 (0.8) | 0 (2) | 45 | |
| Electricity | 0 (1) | 14 (4.3) | 1735 (–) | 71 (6.3) | 34 (6.5) | 33 (1.8) | 1887 | |
| Gas | 0 (1) | 1 (0) | 44 (6.3) | 184 (–) | 1 (1) | 1 (0) | 231 | |
| Paraffin | 0 (1) | 7 (0.8) | 16 (6.5) | 3 (1) | 114 (–) | 11 (0.9) | 151 | |
| Wood | 2 (0.2) | 2 (2) | 23 (1.8) | 1 (0) | 7 (0.9) | 144 (–) | 179 | |
| Total | 9 | 58 | 1824 | 261 | 161 | 192 | 2505 | |
| χ2 | P-VALUE | |||||||
| Symmetry | 27.11 | 0.028 | ||||||
| Stuart-Maxwell Marginal Homogeneity | 18.96 | 0.002 | ||||||
Table 6
Self-reported doctor or nurse-diagnosed respiratory health outcomes the month before and then during Lockdown Levels 5 and 4 (N = 2 505).
| VARIABLE | A MONTH BEFORE LOCKDOWN LEVELS 5 AND 4 | DURING LOCKDOWN LEVELS 5 AND 4 | P–VALUE |
|---|---|---|---|
| FREQUENCY | FREQUENCY | ||
| N (%) | N (%) | ||
| Doctor or nurse–diagnosed health outcomes | |||
| Dry cough | 395 (16) | 308 (12) | <0.001 |
| Wet cough | 218 (9) | 154 (6) | <0.001 |
| Hay fever | 237 (9) | 130 (5) | <0.001 |
| Wheeze | 72 (3) | 59 (2) | 0.128 |
| Shortness of breath | 112 (5) | 106 (4) | 0.599 |
| Anyone in household had a COVID test | |||
| Yes | – | 888 (35) | – |
| No | – | 1 617 (65) | – |
| Anyone in household had a positive COVID-19 test result | |||
| Yes | – | 188 (21) | – |
| No | – | 700 (79) | – |
Table 7
Lockdown Levels 5 and 4 experiences of questionnaire respondents: cooking, energy, crowding, cleaning, time indoors and financial difficulty (N = 2 505).
| VARIABLE | FREQUENCY N (%) |
|---|---|
| Cook more often during Lockdown | |
| Yes | 1 820 (73) |
| No | 685 (27) |
| Energy (e.g., electricity, wood, coal, etc.) become more expensive | |
| Yes | 1 838 (73) |
| No | 667 (27) |
| Fuel (e.g., electricity, wood, coal, etc.) become more difficult to get hold of | |
| Yes | 1 140 (46) |
| No | 1 365 (54) |
| More people staying in the dwelling during Lockdown | |
| Yes | 674 (27) |
| No | 1 831 (73) |
| Clean house more during Lockdown | |
| More | 1 779 (71) |
| Less | 113 (5) |
| Same | 613 (24) |
| Spend more time indoors during Lockdown | |
| Yes | 2 336 (93) |
| No | 169 (7) |
| Difficult to make financial ends meet during Lockdown | |
| No | 437 (17) |
| Yes, somewhat | 1 067 (43) |
| Yes, much more | 1 001 (40) |