STATUS OF SANITATION FACILITIES AND ITS IMPACTS ON HEALTH IN MAINPURI CITY OF UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

Nearly 60 million people in urban areas lack access to improved sanitation arrangements, and more than two-thirds of wastewater is let out untreated into the environment, polluting land and water bodies. Urban sanitation in India faces many challenges. To respond to these environmental and public health challenges, urban India will need to address the full cycle of sanitation, i.e., universal access to toilets, with safe collection, conveyance and treatment of human excreta. There has been a significant increase in waste generation because of rapid population growth and economic development. Thus, waste management and sanitation became major environmental and health problem. In rainy season condition gets worse. This paper outlines these concerns, and highlights the need for focusing on access to water and the full cycle of sanitation for the urban poor, as fundamental to addressing the sanitation challenge. In this paper an attempt has been made to identify the sanitation related risk factors and its relationship with associated diseases in Mainpuri city. The study is based on primary sources of data collected through household surveys in Mainpuri city. Households belong to different income groups. The total sample size consists of 1836 households. The result showed that the sanitation condition and associated diseases or living standards and health conditions are related to each other. In this paper typhoid fever, cholera, malaria, etc. diseases were observed. The lower income group households are most vulnerable. They suffer most because of their poor sanitation conditions.

Vaccine equity: a key to global economic recovery

Background: The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus- 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), has resulted in an unprecedented global public health and economic crisis. The cumulative number of cases is now over 200 million and the number of deaths exceeds 4.2 million. COVID-19 vaccination provides hope for an end to the pandemic, if and only if there would be equal access and optimal uptake in all countries around the world.Methods: The study on nine selected countries corroborates the relative importance of vaccination rate in reducing daily death as percentage of confirmed COVID- 19 cases.Results: Vaccination data has brought forth the gaping disparity in the process whereby lower income group countries with 8.6 percent of world population have received 0.3 percent of total vaccine dose as against high income countries with 15.7 percent of global population and have received 29.0.Conclusions: Spending for vaccination should be considered as an investment instead of expenditure.

511Effects of educational activities prior to school entry are more important for socioeconomically disadvantaged children

Background We examined whether time in educational activities at 2-3 years and language ability at school entry differed among children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Methods Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (n = 4253). Educational activities were collected using time-use diaries. Household income was measured using parent self-report. Language ability was assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Marginal structural models with inverse probability of treatment weights were used to assess modification of the effect of time spent in educational activities on language ability by income. Results Children exposed to both <30 minutes/day in educational activities and being in a low-income household were at greater risk of poorer outcomes than the simple sum of their independent effects. Compared with children who spent ≥30 minutes/day in educational activities and from higher-income households, children who experienced <30 minutes/day from low-income households had a 2.30 (95% CI: 1.88, 2.80) higher risk of having lower language ability. The Relative Excess Risk Due to Interaction of 0.15 (95% CI:-0.15, 0.67) was greater than zero indicating a super-additive effect measure modification by income. Conclusions Our results suggest that boosting time in educational activities to 30 minutes/day would benefit the lower-income group relatively more than the higher-income group. Key messages If there was an intervention of sufficient dose to increase the amount of time spent in educational activities to 30 minutes/day for children in the lower-income group, the risk of children having lower language ability at school entry could be reduced by 45%.

Associations of education and income with hazardous drinking among postpartum women in Japan: results from the TMM BirThree Cohort Study

Background Although the postpartum period is suggested to provide an ideal opportunity for interventions to prevent hazardous drinking, evidence on the associations of education and income with hazardous drinking during this period is limited, including in Japan. Methods We analyzed data from 11,031 women who participated in the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study in Japan. Hazardous drinking was defined as ethanol intake of ≥20 g/day 1 year after delivery. We conducted multiple logistic regression analyses to examine whether educational attainment or equivalent household income was associated with hazardous drinking, adjusting for age, parity, drinking status during pregnancy, work status, postpartum depression, breastfeeding, and income/education. We also conducted stratified analyses by income and education groups. Results The prevalence of hazardous drinking 1 year after delivery was 3.6%. Lower education was associated with hazardous drinking; the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of high school education or lower compared with university education or higher was 2.17 (1.59–2.98). Lower income was also associated with hazardous drinking, but this association disappeared after further adjustments for education; the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of the lowest compared with highest level of income were 1.42 (1.04–1.94) and 1.12 (0.81–1.54), respectively. A significant interaction was detected; lower education and lower income were associated with increased risks of hazardous drinking only in a lower income group and lower education group, respectively. Conclusions Postpartum women with lower education and lower income had higher risks of hazardous drinking in Japan.

Greater Stress Level Fluctuation in Lower Income Earners since onset of Coronavirus Pandemic

Natural disasters, mental illnesses, injuries, and crime are all known factors that lead to stress (Casarella 2020). People were in various levels of confinement due to Coronavirus all over the world, leading to job loss and inability to finance basic living expenses. This study evaluated the relationship between stress and income by surveying different socioeconomic groups. All the participants took anonymous PSS (Perceived Stress Scale) and SRRS (Social Readjustment Rating Scale) test that included questions about race, age range, income range, and the number of times they think about Coronavirus each day. Dr.Cohen's 2009 PSS score samples of the American population were used as a baseline measurement for the pre-Coronavirus stress score levels. The stress level fluctuation was calculated by subtracting participants' survey scores from Cohen's scores to determine the overall stress level change. A p-value of 0.00000001196 for the lower-income group (<$30k/yr) and a p-value of 0.01214 for the higher income group (>$91k/yr) was obtained using the independent-t-test. These p-values supported the alternative hypothesis proposed in this study that there is a more significant change in the stress levels spanning the onset and duration of the Coronavirus pandemic in members of a lower socioeconomic bracket (<$30,000/yr) than of people in a higher income bracket (>$91,000/yr). The results revealed that the PSS score of the 65 years and older group had increased the most and no significant difference in stress scores between racial groups. Additionally, people who think about Coronavirus more frequently have higher PSS scores.

The Gaps in Health-Adjusted Life Years (HALE) by Income and Region in Korea: A National Representative Bigdata Analysis

This study aims to calculate the health-adjusted life years (HALE) by using years lived with disability (YLD) from the national claims data, as well as to identify the differences and inequalities in income level and region. The study was carried out on total population receiving health insurance and medical benefits. We calculated incidence-based YLD for 260 disease groups, and used it as the number of healthy years lost to calculate HALE. We adopted the insurance premium to calculate the income as a proxy indicator. For the region classification, we chose 250 Korean municipal-level administrative districts. Our results revealed that HALE increased from 2008 to 2018. HALE in males increased faster than that in females. HALE was higher in higher income levels. In 2018, the gap in HALE between Q1 and Q2, the lower income group, was about 5.57 years. The gap in females by income level was smaller than that in males. Moreover, the gap in HALE by region was found to increase. Results suggest that there is an inequality in YLD in terms of income level in Korea. Therefore, we need intensive management for the low-income group to promote HALE at the national level.

Wellbeing of Lower Income Group University Students During Covid19 Pandemics: Multi-Group Analysis of Male-Female and Urban-Rural Origin

This research was conducted during the COVID 19 pandemic to determine if there is a significant difference in the wellbeing of the lower-income group university students between (1) males and females and (2) urban and rural origin. A quantitative non-experimental comparative study was adopted, and data was collected via an online survey using a convenience sampling technique. A standardized World Health Organization-QOL BREF questionnaire containing 26 items was used for assessing the QOL of the subjects. Partial Least Square – structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and multigroup analysis (MGA) was utilized to perform the analysis. The respondents comprised of 305 students, 112 from the urban and 193 rural areas. The results suggest there are significant differences between male and female students for physical and psychological health domain. However, the findings did not support for any differences between urban and rural origin towards the four domains of quality of life. The findings help to understand the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on health and wellbeing of university’s students which is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 to promote sustainable health to all. Assessing the university students’ health and wellbeing during the pandemic is important for assisting policymakers and higher education institutions to work on strategies and action plans for inclusive health care supports to students as the future leaders.

Contraceptive and Abortion-Related Practices Among Females of Lower Income Group in District Lahore

Introduction: Reproductive age females in Pakistan are still having poor access to adequate contraceptive information and difficulty in decision making, resulting in abortions many times. Aims & Objectives: To identify contraceptive and abortion-related practice among married reproductive age females of lower income group in District Lahore. Place and duration of study: Study was conducted in 30 union councils (UCs) of District Lahore, Pakistan in 2011-2016. Material & Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out on a sample of 210 married females of reproductive age in 30 UCs of District Lahore. 30 UCs were randomly selected out of 150 followed by random selection of one village/ward which was considered as a cluster and 7 females were recruited through convenience sampling in each cluster. Data was collected on contraceptive use, preferences, decision making and abortion-related practice and their associations with socio-demographics of these females. Results: The survey was carried out among 210 females with mean age 29 ± 5.28. 97.6% were Muslims, 23.3% were illiterate and 96.2% were housewives. Per capita per month income was ? PKR 3000 in 99 % of the respondents. 20% females used contraception. 39% women were delivered by untrained birth attendants, 95.7% females breast fed and amongst them only 15.7% fed for two years. 33(15.7%) of respondents had 48 abortions and amongst them 27% got it done by a Dai while female neighbors did it in 4.2% cases so a total of 31.2 % abortions were conducted at home. Place of abortion and delivery was decided by husbands in 87.4% respondents. Lower age and age at marriage were found to be associated with higher contraceptive use and abortions (P<0.001). Conclusion: Contraceptive use is very low and abortion-related practices are poor. Respondent’s age and age at marriage are the determinants showing significant association with contraceptive use and abortion.