ASSESSING THE HEALTH HAZARDS PRESENT IN OPEN AIR MARKETS AND THEEFFECTS THEY POSE: A CASE STUDY OF MARKETS IN NAROK TOWN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66055/a3zwca37Keywords:
Open-air markets, Health hazards, Public Health, NarokAbstract
The growth of open-air markets has been on
the rise both globally and locally. Narok
town has also had its fair share of growth in
open air markets. These open-air markets
are, however, associated with various health
hazards which end up posing a threat to the
health of the people working in these
markets and the environment at large. This
study aimed at identifying the health hazards
in the two major open-air markets, that is,
ODM and Muthurwa open-air markets and
the health effects they pose. The objectives
for this were to determine the public health
hazards and risks in these markets, how
these hazards affect the health of people
working in these open-air markets, to
determine the levels of knowledge and
awareness of public health standards and
requirements among the market and to
suggest possible recommendations on how
to improve the working conditions in these
open air markets. A self-administered, semi-
structured questionnaire was administered to
the target population and was duly filled.
From the results obtained from the study, it
is evident that there is public health hazards
present in these markets which tend to affect
the health of the people working in these
markets and the environment to some extent.
Although, a few people in the markets are
aware of the public health standards in the
markets, there is still inadequate information
and different levels of awareness that need
to be improved in these markets. The
working conditions need to be improved to
ensure the comfort of the people who work
in these markets as well as those visiting the
markets. This study concluded that these
major open-air markets in Narok town face
myriad challenges that need to be mitigated
by all the stakeholders associated with these
markets to help reduce these hazards that
affect the people working in them. It was
recommended that similar studies be
replicated in other open-air markets in the
country to compare with the findings of this
study.
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