scholarly journals Water Scarcity & Health in Urban Africa

Daedalus ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 150 (4) ◽  
pp. 85-102
Author(s):  
Julie Livingston

Abstract Water is the cornerstone of public health. Yet many people living in Africa's cities face serious challenges obtaining an adequate supply of clean water. This situation, which poses significant public health concerns, promises only to grow in magnitude in the coming years as rapid urbanization and climate change meet head-on to further constrain urban water provision. This essay explores the relationship between water supply and health in urban Africa through the lens of water scarcity and health as political relationships as much as environmental or technical phenomena. By bringing infectious diseases like cholera and chronic ailments like kidney disease into the same frame of analysis, this essay also directs attention beyond the overwhelming public health focus on microbial contamination to emergent forms of water-related illness and injury that proceed unchecked.

Author(s):  
Lingbo Liu ◽  
Yuni Zhong ◽  
Siya Ao ◽  
Hao Wu

Urban green space has been proven effective in improving public health in the contemporary background of planetary urbanization. There is a growing body of literature investigating the relationship between non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and green space, whereas seldom has the correlation been explored between green space and epidemics, such as dysentery, tuberculosis, and malaria, which still threaten the worldwide situation of public health. Meanwhile, most studies explored healthy issues with the general green space, public green space, and green space coverage, respectively, among which the different relevance has been rarely explored. This study aimed to examine and compare the relevance between these three kinds of green space and incidences of the three types of epidemic diseases based on the Panel Data Model (PDM) with the time series data of 31 Chinese provinces from 2007 to 2016. The results indicated that there exists different, or even opposite, relevance between various kinds of green space and epidemic diseases, which might be associated with the process of urban sprawl in rapid urbanization in China. This paper provides a reference for re-thinking the indices of green space in building healthier and greener cities.


Author(s):  
Malini Ranganathan

Most urban residents around the world access water through a variety of so-called informal means. While “informal” water access is often equated with private water vendors operating outside of the state, this essay argues that informal practices and logics pervade the entire water system, cutting across perceived boundaries separating the formal and informal, state and private, and utility and nonutility. This essay reconceptualizes urban water informality through a postcolonial theoretical lens, arguing that “informal” water does not lie outside of state control and oversight, nor is it strictly separate from “formal” water. Rather, informal water is a product of historically specific forms of state practice that have shaped differentiated and fractured forms of space and infrastructure over time. Central to an understanding of informal water provision is the relationship between state practice, space, and infrastructure. The essay draws from the case of Bangalore, India, to critically rethink urban water informality.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 250-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M Hille

ObjectiveTo identify changes in the linear trend of the age-standardized incidence of melanoma in Australia for all persons, males, and females. MethodsA two-piece piecewise linear regression was fitted to the data. The piecewise breakpoint varied through an iterative process to determine the model that best fits the data.ResultsStatistically significant changes in the trendof the age-standardized incidence of melanoma in Australia were found for all persons, males, and females. The optimal breakpoint for all persons and males was at 1998. For females, the optimal breakpoint was at 2005. The trend after these breakpoints was flatter than prior to the breakpoints, but still positive.ConclusionMelanoma is a significant public health issue in Australia. Overall incidence continues to increase. However, the rate at which the incidence is increasing appears to be decreasing.


2020 ◽  

Background: The relationship between oral health and general health is gaining interest in geriatric research; however, a lack of studies dealing with this issue from a general perspective makes it somewhat inaccessible to non-clinical public health professionals. Purpose: The purpose of this review is to describe the relationship between oral health and general health of the elderly on the basis of literature review, and to give non-clinical medical professionals and public health professionals an overview of this discipline. Methods: This study was based on an in-depth review of the literature pertaining to the relationship between oral health and general health among the older people. The tools commonly used to evaluate dental health and the academic researches of male elderly people were also reviewed. And future research directions were summarized. Results: Dental caries, periodontal disease, edentulism, and xerostomia are common oral diseases among the older people. Dental caries and periodontal diseases are the leading causes of missing teeth and edentulism. Xerostomia, similar to dry mouth, is another common oral health disease in the older people. No clear correlation exists between the subjective feeling of dryness and an objective decrease of saliva. Rather, both conditions can be explained by changes in saliva. The General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) are the main assessment tools used to examine oral health and quality of life in the older people. The GOHAI tends to be more sensitive to objective values pertaining to oral function. In addition, oral health studies in male elderly people are population-based cohort or cross-sectional studies, involving masticatory function, oral prevention, frailty problems, cardiovascular disease risk, and cognitive status. Conclusion: It is possible to reduce the incidence of certain oral diseases, even among individuals who take oral health care seriously. Oral health care should be based on the viewpoint of comprehensive treatment, including adequate nutrition, good life and psychology, and correct oral health care methods. In the future, researchers could combine the results of meta-analysis with the clinical experience of doctors to provide a more in-depth and broader discussion on oral health research topics concerning the older people.


Author(s):  
Evi Rosita ◽  
Siti Nurnaningrum

There are about 2.8 million incident of perineal rupture in maternal physiological labor. In 2050,it is estimated that the incidence of perineal rupture can be 6.3 million if it is not accompanied by a good midwifery care. In 2016, in Trawas, there was (89%) perineal rupture in primiparas and (57%) perineal rupture in multiparas. Perineal rupture incidences due to parity were still very high. This study aims to analyze the relationship between parity and the incidence of perineal rupture . It is quantitative studyusing a cross sectional approach, by using analysis of physiological maternity women  medical record data from January to April 2017 of 130 peoplein Trawas Public Health Center, Mojokerto Regency.The dataanalysis used was Chi - Square , indicated by p value = 0,000 with ɑ = 0,05. It means that the value of p <ɑ, so H1 is accepted. It can be concluded that there is a relationship between parity and the incidence of perineal rupture on physiological maternity women in Trawas Public Health Center,Mojokerto Regency. Midwives can apply collaboration with patients and their families to have physical and psychologicalpreparation with an alternative of hypnobirthing methods.


Author(s):  
Aryo Wibisono ◽  
R. Amilia Destryana

This study aims to determine the index of public satisfaction in public health center services in Sumenep Regency and the relationship between the services to the public satisfaction. The analysis measured the index of public satisfaction and logistic regression methods to determine the effect of the relationship on total satisfaction in the health services of Public Health Center. The results of the study are the alignment between interests and patient satisfaction is still not aligned, there are still differences between interests and satisfaction, the pattern of the result is the relationship between the assurance dimension to the service satisfaction of the public health center, and the results of the index of public satisfaction  values show that the results of the community assess the public health center performance is very good by getting an A grade. Keywords: public service, logistic regretion, index of public satisfaction


2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 469-476
Author(s):  
S.R.A. Soares ◽  
R.S. Bernardes

The sanitary problems promoted by the rapid urbanization process in developing cities are usually resulted from the absence of planning, high population concentration and inadequate water and wastewater infrastructure for low income people. Because the provision and planning of water supply and is a complex task, a modeling approach was used to enhance the understanding of the process and the aspects involved. In the development of a model, not only the technical aspects were taken into account, but other aspects related to the provision of drinking water and the water resources protection were also analyzed, such as institutional, financial, socioeconomic, environmental and public health. In the modeling process two different methods of conceptualization were used to describe the urban water flow through the water and wastewater systems linked to various aspects related to their implementation in large developing cities. The urban water systems of five large metropolitan areas in Brazil were also evaluated for the complete model. It is expected that the modeling approach developed in this paper consists of a valuable methodology for water supply and sanitation planning in Brazilian cities, and other developing cities with the same characteristics. The suggested conceptual model could, at least, provide more than a starting point for a useful urban water management tool.


Author(s):  
Jennifer D. Allen ◽  
Rachel C. Shelton ◽  
Karen M. Emmons ◽  
Laura A. Linnan

There is substantial variability in the implementation of evidence-based interventions across the United States, which leads to inconsistent access to evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies at a population level. Increased dissemination and implementation of evidence-based interventions could result in significant public health gains. While the availability of evidence-based interventions is increasing, study of implementation, adaptation, and dissemination has only recently gained attention in public health. To date, insufficient attention has been given to the issue of fidelity. Consideration of fidelity is necessary to balance the need for internal and external validity across the research continuum. There is also a need for a more robust literature to increase knowledge about factors that influence fidelity, strategies for maximizing fidelity, methods for measuring and analyzing fidelity, and examining sources of variability in implementation fidelity.


Author(s):  
Gerald Bloom ◽  
Hayley MacGregor

Rapid development has brought significant economic and health benefits, but it has also exposed populations to new health risks. Public health as a scientific discipline and major government responsibility developed during the nineteenth century to help mitigate these risks. Public health actions need to take into account large inequalities in the benefits and harms associated with development between countries, between social groups, and between generations. This is especially important in the present context of very rapid change. It is important to acknowledge the global nature of the challenges people face and the need to involve countries with different cultures and historical legacies in arriving at consensus on an ethical basis for global cooperation in addressing these challenges. This chapter provides an analysis of these issues, using examples on the management of health risks associated with global development and rapid urbanization and on the emergence of organisms that are resistant to antibiotics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Rinaldi ◽  
M P M Bekker

Abstract Background The political system is an important influencing factor for population health but is often neglected in the public health literature. This scoping review uses insights from political science to explore the possible public health consequences of the rise of populist radical right (PRR) parties in Europe, with welfare state policy as a proxy. The aim is to generate hypotheses about the relationship between the PRR, political systems and public health. Methods A literature search on PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar resulted in 110 original research articles addressing 1) the relationship between the political system and welfare state policy/population health outcomes or 2) the relationship between PRR parties and welfare state policy/population health outcomes in Europe. Results The influence of political parties on population health seems to be mediated by welfare state policies. Early symptoms point towards possible negative effects of the PRR on public health, by taking a welfare chauvinist position. Despite limited literature, there are preliminary indications that the effect of PRR parties on health and welfare policy depends on vote-seeking or office-seeking strategies and may be mediated by the political system in which they act. Compromises with coalition partners, electoral institutions and the type of healthcare system can either restrain or exacerbate the effects of the PRR policy agenda. EU laws and regulations can to some extent restrict the nativist policy agenda of PRR parties. Conclusions The relationship between the PRR and welfare state policy seems to be mediated by the political system, meaning that the public health consequences will differ by country. Considering the increased popularity of populist parties in Europe and the possibly harmful consequences for public health, there is a need for further research on the link between the PRR and public health.


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