Experience and Future Perceived Risk of Floods and Diarrheal Disease in Urban Poor Communities in Accra, Ghana

Dados Bibliográficos

ID15487100
AutoresMumuni Abu (0000-0002-6455-0162, University of Ghana, autor correspondente), Samuel Nii Ardey Codjoe (0000-0002-6567-0262, University of Ghana)
Ano2018
Volume15
Fascículo12
Páginas2830-2830
Data de publicação2018-12-12
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
EditoraMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph15122830
PMID30545071
OpenAlexW2905178797
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas10
Referências citadas32

Diarrheal disease is a critical health condition in urban areas of developing countries due to increasing urbanization and its associated problems of sanitation and poor access to good drinking water. Increasing floods in cities have been linked to the risk of diarrheal disease. There are few studies that specifically link flooding with diarrhea diseases. This may be due to the fact that secondary data mainly hospital recorded cases, and not individual cases at the household level are used. Furthermore, of the few papers that consider the flood-diarrheal diseases nexus, none have considered risk perceptions in general, and more specifically, whether households that have experienced floods which resulted in a reported case of diarrhea, have higher perceived risks of future occurrences of the two phenomena compared to households that had different experiences. Yet, this is critical for the development of interventions that seek to increase protective behaviors and reduce the risk of contracting diarrhea. We surveyed 401 households in some selected urban poor communities in Accra, the capital of Ghana. Results show that households that experienced floods which resulted in a reported case of diarrhea, have higher perceived risk of future occurrence of the two phenomena compared to other households. We recommend public education that reduces the risk of exposure to flood and diarrhea through flood mitigation measures, including the construction of drains in communities and educating communities on good sanitation

Developing country · Diarrhea · Diarrheal disease · Diarrheal diseases · Economic growth · Environmental health · Flood myth · Flooding (psychology · Geography · Malnutrition · Outbreak · Psychological intervention · Public health · Sanitation · Socioeconomics · Urbanization · Waterborne diseases · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Disaster Management and Resilience · Flood Risk Assessment and Management · Medicine · Psychology