Knowledge level of rural women regarding safe and judicious use of chemicals at household level

Rural women are processors, consumers, producers and protectors of farm produce, they are constantly in contact with chemicals. Thus they may become vulnerable to chemicals related health risks. The role of women in chemical usage and consumer safety is of special significance. So, it is very important to assess their knowledge related to use of these chemicals safely at household level. Keeping this in view, the study was conducted on safe and judicious use of chemicals at household level on 100 rural women of Ludhiana District of Punjab State. After consulting the literature, 17 practices were finalized for knowledge test. All the items had a score of one for each correct response and zero for incorrect response. Total scores of each respondent on the knowledge test were calculated. The level of knowledge was categorized into low, medium and high. Fifty four per cent of the respondents had medium knowledge level and 45 per cent had low knowledge level. Only one per cent had high level of knowledge. Education, occupation and family type had significant association with knowledge level of rural women. There is need to create awareness and impart knowledge to rural women regarding safe and judicious use of chemicals at household level through different media.