Health of Farming Communities Prior to Modification of the Occupational Environment through a Watershed Development Project in Kolar, India.
Agriculture
India
health impact assessment
nutrition
vector-borne disease
watershed development
Journal
Indian journal of occupational and environmental medicine
ISSN: 0973-2284
Titre abrégé: Indian J Occup Environ Med
Pays: India
ID NLM: 9815775
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Historique:
received:
15
07
2020
revised:
08
09
2020
accepted:
01
10
2020
entrez:
23
8
2021
pubmed:
24
8
2021
medline:
24
8
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Watershed development (WSD) projects, aimed primarily at enhancing soil and water conservation and supporting livelihoods in semi-arid areas, have the potential to impact health by modifying the occupational and household environments in agrarian communities. To identify and address potential health concerns arising from a planned WSD project in Kolar district, India, a health impact assessment (HIA) was conducted. This necessitated understanding the health status and concerns in the project villages. To characterize the health of farmers and their household members in close proximity of the planned WSD project. We carried out a cross-sectional survey between April and July 2019. The study comprised: (i) a household survey covering the four project villages and two comparison villages (e.g. socio-demographic characteristics, occurrence of vector-borne diseases (VBDs), access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and utilization of healthcare); and (ii) an anthropometric survey for children under the age of 5 years in the four project villages and four comparison villages. Respondents (n = 333) reported household-level occurrences of VBDs (chikungunya, 3.3%; and dengue, 1.5%), consuming unsafe water (54.5%) and frequent pesticide application in fields (26.7%). The prevalence of child underweight was 23.8%. VBDs, poor water quality and child undernutrition were found to be important local health concerns, amenable for preventive and promotive measures through the planned WSD project. Occupational environments in agricultural settings affect the workers and their households, and comprehensive projects such as WSD can seize the opportunity for improving health of farming and other rural households.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Watershed development (WSD) projects, aimed primarily at enhancing soil and water conservation and supporting livelihoods in semi-arid areas, have the potential to impact health by modifying the occupational and household environments in agrarian communities. To identify and address potential health concerns arising from a planned WSD project in Kolar district, India, a health impact assessment (HIA) was conducted. This necessitated understanding the health status and concerns in the project villages.
OBJECTIVE
OBJECTIVE
To characterize the health of farmers and their household members in close proximity of the planned WSD project.
METHODS
METHODS
We carried out a cross-sectional survey between April and July 2019. The study comprised: (i) a household survey covering the four project villages and two comparison villages (e.g. socio-demographic characteristics, occurrence of vector-borne diseases (VBDs), access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and utilization of healthcare); and (ii) an anthropometric survey for children under the age of 5 years in the four project villages and four comparison villages.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Respondents (n = 333) reported household-level occurrences of VBDs (chikungunya, 3.3%; and dengue, 1.5%), consuming unsafe water (54.5%) and frequent pesticide application in fields (26.7%). The prevalence of child underweight was 23.8%.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
VBDs, poor water quality and child undernutrition were found to be important local health concerns, amenable for preventive and promotive measures through the planned WSD project. Occupational environments in agricultural settings affect the workers and their households, and comprehensive projects such as WSD can seize the opportunity for improving health of farming and other rural households.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34421243
doi: 10.4103/ijoem.IJOEM_270_20
pii: IJOEM-25-84
pmc: PMC8341411
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
84-90Informations de copyright
Copyright: © 2021 Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
There are no conflicts of interest.
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