Urbanization, Health and Environment in Coastal Ghana

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This application responds to RFA TW 03-005 "Health, Environment and Economic Development." We will examine social and demographic processes that are closely linked to health and environmental outcomes. We will examine how urbanization influences environmental health risks, and how these in turn influence local thinking about environmental issues. To do so, we will employ an interdisciplinary research team, bringing together social scientists, field biologists, and health. We will conduct our work in coastal Ghana at a site with which we are familiar. We intend to (1) conduct focus groups and in-depth interviews with respondents located in the region, addressing questions of health behavior and demographic activity; (2) conduct exploratory drinking water quality measurements at the household and community level; (3) delineate watersheds of coastal water bodies; (4) develop a population growth and land use profile for the study area; (5) conduct preliminary analysis of the interrelationships among urbanization, lagoon water quality, fish catches and human health. This research is designed to help us frame a more ambitious interdisciplinary investigation in the near future.