Development of a Spatial and Temporal Agent-Based Model for Studying Water and Health Relationships

The Case Study of Two Villages in Limpopo, South Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID15347487
AuthorsJeffrey Demarest (corresponding author), Sheree Pagsuyoin (0000-0001-7134-1679), Gerard P Learmonth, Gerard Learmonth, Jonathan Mellor (0000-0002-9270-0690), Rebecca Dillingham (0000-0001-9748-1215)
Year2013
Volume16
Issue4
Publication date2013-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1460-7425 • E-ISSN: 1460-7425
PublisherJournal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.18564/jasss.2169
PMID25530709
OpenAlexW2128591150
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited13

Diarrhea, the second leading cause of child morbidity and mortality, can have detrimental effects in the physical and cognitive development of children in developing countries. Health interventions (e.g., increased access to health services and safe water) designed to address this problem are difficult to implement in resource-limited settings. In this paper, we present a tool for understanding the complex relationship between water and public health in rural areas of a developing country. A spatial and temporal agent-based model (ABM) was developed to simulate the current water, sanitation, and health status in two villages in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The model was calibrated using empirical data and published sources. It was used to simulate the effects of poor water quality on the frequency of diarrheal episodes in children, and consequently on child development. Preliminary simulation results show that at the current total coliform levels in the water sources of the studied villages, children are expected to experience stunting by as much as -1.0 standard deviations from the World Health Organization height norms. With minor modifications, the calibrated ABM can be used to design and evaluate intervention strategies for improving child health in these villages. The model can also be applied to other regions worldwide that face the same environmental challenges and conditions as the studied villages

Business · Child mortality · Developing country · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Environmental planning · Geography · Psychological intervention · Public health · Resource (disambiguation · Sanitation · Socioeconomics · Water quality · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Computer Science · Environmental Science · Global Maternal and Child Health · Medicine · Psychology · Urban and Rural Development Challenges · Environmental Engineering

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