Seasonal environmental hazards: a multi-disciplinary approach to the analysis of health risks in lower-income countries

季节性环境危害：低收入国家健康风险分析的多学科方法

• 批准号: NE/E009042/1
• 负责人: Roger Few
• 金额: $ 20.63万
• 依托单位: University of East Anglia
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2007 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FE009042%2F1
• 关键词: Seasonal; environmental; hazards; multi; disciplinary

In many parts of the world, annual variations in climate produce major seasonal changes in environmental conditions, with important but as yet poorly specified implications for human health. Such change is perhaps most marked on the flood plains of large rivers with high seasonal variation in discharge. Many such flood plains hold dense human populations, and in low and middle income countries in particular both extensive seasonal flooding and low-water conditions in the dry season have the potential to heighten disease risk. For example, these extremes can cause increased abundance of mosquitoes, impacts on drinking water supplies or contamination of the local environment with human wastes and other pollutants. With the prospect of climate change bringing possible intensification of climatic seasonality in many regions, including increases in the average peak flows of monsoon-fed rivers of Asia, it is crucial to gain a better understanding of how seasonal hazards may affect human health now. This proposal aims to test a multidisciplinary approach to analysis of health risks from seasonal environmental hazards in lower-income settings using a case study example from the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam. The Mekong Delta covers around 39,600 sq. km and has a population of 16.1 million / equivalent to one-eighth of the land area and one fifth of the total population of Vietnam. It is widely perceived by local health practitioners that in low-income areas of the delta poor waste control, inadequate latrines and poor hygiene practices lead to contamination of soil and water and hence to increased disease risk. The risk of diarrhoeal disease is expected to be heightened both during the annual floods and during the height of the dry season. However, there is not yet strong evidence about levels of contamination in the local environment, how it changes/spreads during the changing seasons, and what the public health impact really is / and there has also been insufficient study at the grassroots level of how people perceive that risk and how their behaviour might exacerbate or ameliorate it. The plan for this exploratory study is to work in the city of Cao Lanh in the heart of the Mekong Delta, where three low-income neighbourhoods will be selected for detailed study. What sets the project apart from previous work is that it will combine three main components: environmental monitoring for disease organisms, analysis of data on health outcomes, and social research at the household level on how people perceive and respond to health risks. As well as generating insights into how to tackle the specific risks to health in the Mekong Delta, the project will offer the chance to test and refine a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding seasonal health risks that will be applicable in many other countries. Immediate possibilities for ongoing research include expanding the geographical scope to similar situations (e.g. in the floodplains of Bangladesh, India, China, Mozambique, Brazil). The work will be of particular benefit to populations in hazardous locations and to the agencies that are responsible for protecting public health, especially in low-income countries where the options for physical mitigation of hazards are often severely constrained.

在世界许多地方，气候的年度变化造成环境条件的重大季节性变化，对人类健康产生重要但尚未具体说明的影响。这种变化可能在流量季节变化大的大河的洪泛平原上最为显著。许多这样的洪泛平原人口稠密，特别是在低收入和中等收入国家，广泛的季节性洪水和旱季的低水位条件都有可能增加疾病风险。例如，这些极端情况可能导致蚊子数量增加，影响饮用水供应，或人类排泄物和其他污染物污染当地环境。由于气候变化的前景可能使许多区域的气候季节性加剧，包括亚洲季风河流的平均峰值流量增加，因此必须更好地了解季节性灾害现在可能如何影响人类健康。该提案旨在测试一种多学科方法，以越南南部湄公河三角洲的案例研究为例，分析低收入环境中季节性环境危害的健康风险。湄公河三角洲占地约39，600平方米。越南国土面积约为1000平方公里，人口约为1610万，占越南国土面积的八分之一，总人口的五分之一。当地保健工作者普遍认为，在三角洲低收入地区，废物控制不力、厕所不足和卫生习惯不良导致土壤和水污染，从而增加了疾病风险。预计在每年的洪水期间和旱季高峰期间，疟疾发病的风险都会增加。然而，目前还没有强有力的证据表明当地环境的污染程度，以及污染在季节变化期间如何变化/扩散，以及对公众健康的影响到底是什么在基层，人们如何看待这种风险以及他们的行为如何加剧或减轻这种风险的研究也不够。这项探索性研究的计划是在湄公河三角洲的心脏地带，将选择三个低收入社区进行详细研究。该项目与以往工作的不同之处在于，它将结合联合收割机三个主要组成部分：对疾病生物体的环境监测、对健康结果数据的分析以及在家庭一级对人们如何看待和应对健康风险进行社会研究。该项目除了提供关于如何应对湄公河三角洲地区特定健康风险的见解外，还将提供一个机会，测试和完善一种多学科方法，以了解适用于许多其他国家的季节性健康风险。目前正在进行的研究的直接可能性包括将地理范围扩大到类似的情况（例如在孟加拉国、印度、中国、莫桑比克、巴西的洪泛区）。这项工作将特别有益于危险地点的民众和负责保护公众健康的机构，特别是在低收入国家，因为在这些国家，实际减轻危害的选择往往受到严重限制。

项目成果

La Estadística Ambiental en México

墨西哥La Estadística Ambiental

• 发表时间: 2014
• 作者: Cueva, T. E.;Few, R.
• 通讯作者: Few, R.

Seasonal hazards and health risks in lower-income countries: field testing a multi-disciplinary approach.

• DOI: 10.1186/1476-069x-8-s1-s16
• 发表时间: 2009-12-21
• 期刊: Environmental health : a global access science source
• 作者: Few R;Lake I;Hunter PR;Tran PG;Thien VT
• 通讯作者: Thien VT