Adoption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas among Refugees and Host Communities in Uganda: A Behavioral Perspective

Abstract

Uganda hosts over 1.55 million refugees, many of whom lack access to clean and reliable energy for cooking. The Uganda’s Third National Development Plan (NDP III) together with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development recognize that reliable energy is critical for poverty reduction and society’s social and cultural transformation yet millions of refugees in Uganda have inadequate access to safe and reliable energy mostly for cooking. Humanitarian agencies have attempted on several occasions to promote the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) among refugee and host communities but these attempts have not yielded much. With literature suggesting that behavioral intention can affect the adoption of technologies like LPG, this study aimed at investigating theinfluence of behavioral intentions on the adoption and use of LPG among refugees and host communities in Uganda. Guided by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), this study investigates the behavioral factors influencing LPG adoption among refugees and host communities. A cross-sectional design and quantitative approach were used to collect data from 383 households in Adjumani refugee settlement in Adjumani district in northern Uganda. The findings reveal that performance expectancy and effort expectancy significantly influence behavioral intention to adopt LPG, while social influence had no significant effect on behavioral intention to adopt LPG. Packaging size also moderates the relationship between facilitating conditions and adoption. The study concludes that behavioral intentions are key drivers of LPG adoption, and improving infrastructure, affordability, and awareness can enhance uptake. These findings have important policy implications for designing context-sensitive clean cookinginterventions targeting both refugee and host populations in Uganda.Keywords: Refugees, Adoption, Host community, UTAUT, Behavioral perspective