Wako Golicha Wako

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Exposure to air pollution and/or pollens exacerbates asthma and its severity. Reducing exposure to these factors may lessen the severity of asthma symptoms, the frequency of asthma attacks, and the risk of death from asthma. It is possible to inform personal decision making about how to avoid potentially unsafe situations by enabling adults living with asthma learn the amount of concentration of these harmful factors in their immediate environment. Wearable sensor technologies can measure day to day personal exposure to these threats at high level of spatial and temporal resolution. These wearable devices could be used to map air quality in ones’ surrounding environment every second or few seconds, which is very useful for people living with asthma. Aside from exposure avoidance, what adults with asthma perceive as undesirable or good in their environment may influence their self-protective behaviours. I will use small personal sensor technology to investigate patterns of exposure to air pollution and pollen at the personal level for adults with asthma. My aim is to understand when and where people with asthma are exposed to poor air quality, as well as whether there is a link between subjectively perceived air quality and objective air quality measures.

About me

I completed BSc in public health in 2012 and MPH in public health in 2015, both from Hawassa University in Ethiopia. Before starting my PhD at the University of Edinburgh in September 2022, I worked as an academic and research member of staff in Ethiopian universities for several years. I have experience of conducting quantitative and qualitative research in  various areas of public health. My research interests involve cardiorespiratory health and environmental risk factors.

Publications

• Wayessa, Z.J. and W.G. Wako, Factors associated with knowledge of health care workers toward COVID-19 in health facilities West Guji zone, Southern Ethiopia. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 2022. 11.
• Wako, W.G., Z.J. Wayessa, and A. Fikrie, Effects of maternal education on early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding practices in sub-Saharan Africa: a secondary analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys from 2015 to 2019. BMJ Open, 2022. 12.
• Wayessa, Z.J., et al., Prevalence of depressive symptoms due to COVID-19 and associated factors among healthcare workers in Southern Ethiopia. SAGE Open Medicine, 2021. 9.
• Wako, W.G., et al., Determinants of health system diagnostic delay of pulmonary tuberculosis in Gurage and Siltie zones, South Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 2021. 11.
• Kasahun, A.W., et al., Effects of Scaling Up Family Planning on Maternal Survival in Ethiopia: Spectrum Modeling. International Journal of Women's Health, 2021. 13: p. 711 - 716.
• Wako, W.G., et al., Assessment of neonatal thermal cares: Practices and beliefs among rural women in West Guji Zone, South Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study. PLOS Global Public Health, 2020. 2.
• Kasahun, A.W. and W.G. Wako, Predictors of maternal near miss among women admitted in Gurage zone hospitals, South Ethiopia, 2017: a case control study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 2018. 18.
• Wako, W.G. and D. Kassa, Institutional delivery service utilization and associated factors among women of reproductive age in the mobile pastoral community of the Liban District in Guji Zone, Oromia, Southern Ethiopia: a cross sectional study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 2017. 17.
• Kasahun, A.W., et al., Predictors of exclusive breastfeeding duration among 6–12 month aged children in gurage zone, South Ethiopia: a survival analysis. International Breastfeeding Journal, 2017. 12.