Beyond Proximity: The Importance of Green Space Useability to Self-Reported Health

Access to parks and green spaces within residential neighbourhoods has been shown to be an important pathway to generating better physical and mental health for individuals and communities. Early research in this area often failed to identify specific attributes that contributed to reported health outcomes, with more recent research focused on exploring relationships between health outcomes and aspects of access and design. A mixed methods research project conducted in Perth, Western Australia examined the role that neighbourhood green space played in influencing residents’ self-reported health status, and this paper identifies significant relationships found between perceptions of green space quality and self-reported health. It focuses on the factors that were found to be most positively associated with better health outcomes: proximity, retention, useability and visitation of neighbourhood green space.     

Patterns in self-rated health according to age and sex in a Japanese national survey, 1989–2004

Background: Perceived good health or good self-rated health is considered to be a predictor of longer survival and maintenance of good quality of life, which is a public health goal.Objective: This study assessed trends in the percentage of self-rated poor health among Japanese residents, based on data from the National Comprehensive Survey of the Living Conditions of People on Health and Welfare.Methods: Results of the survey (which is conducted in Japan every 3 years to determine the living conditions of people receiving health and welfare services) were analyzed using multistage and stratified cluster sampling of households. Self-rated health was measured by response to the question, “Recently, would you say that in general your health has been good, fairly good, fair, fairly poor, or poor?” The trend in fairly poor or poor health status during the period from 1989 through 2004 was stratified by sex and age group.Results: The rates of response to the survey were 90.9% (246,892/271,588) in 1995 and 79.8% (220,836/276,682) in 2004. Target subjects were aged ≥20 years in each year of the study. The prevalence of self-reported fairly poor or poor health was lowest in 1995 and then increased every year until 2001, when it appeared to reach a plateau. The prevalence of having fairly poor or poor health among women aged 35 to 44, 45 to 54, 55 to 64, and 65 to 74 years were as follows in 1995: 9.2%, 11.7%, 15.3%, and 19.8%, respectively. In 2004, the rates were 13.3%, 17.2%, 22.1%, and 31.7%, respectively. By comparison, the prevalence of self-reported fairly poor or poor health was 8.1%, 9.3%, 13.7%, and 17.9% among men aged 35 to 44, 45 to 54, 55 to 64, and 65 to 74 years, respectively, in 1995. In 2004, these rates were 12.8%, 14.8%, 19.0%, and 27.9%, respectively.Conclusions: In this survey, conducted every 3 years between 1989 and 2004 in Japanese households, older subjects had a greater prevalence of self-reported fairly poor or poor health than did younger subjects. The proportion of respondents who described their health as poor or fairly poor was highest in 1995. Women generally had a greater prevalence of self-reported poor or fairly poor health.     

Interactive and Independent Associations between the Socioeconomic and Objective Built Environment on the Neighbourhood Level and Individual Health: A Systematic Review of Multilevel Studies

Background

The research question how contextual factors of neighbourhood environments influence individual health has gained increasing attention in public health research. Both socioeconomic neighbourhood characteristics and factors of the built environment play an important role for health and health-related behaviours. However, their reciprocal relationships have not been systematically reviewed so far. This systematic review aims to identify studies applying a multilevel modelling approach which consider both neighbourhood socioeconomic position (SEP) and factors of the objective built environment simultaneously in order to disentangle their independent and interactive effects on individual health.

Methods

The three databases PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were systematically searched with terms for title and abstract screening. Grey literature was not included. Observational studies from USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Western European countries were considered which analysed simultaneously factors of neighbourhood SEP and the objective built environment with a multilevel modelling approach. Adjustment for individual SEP was a further inclusion criterion.

Results

Thirty-three studies were included in qualitative synthesis. Twenty-two studies showed an independent association between characteristics of neighbourhood SEP or the built environment and individual health outcomes or health-related behaviours. Twenty-one studies found cross-level or within-level interactions either between neighbourhood SEP and the built environment, or between neighbourhood SEP or the built environment and individual characteristics, such as sex, individual SEP or ethnicity. Due to the large variation of study design and heterogeneous reporting of results the identification of consistent findings was problematic and made quantitative analysis not possible.

Conclusions

There is a need for studies considering multiple neighbourhood dimensions and applying multilevel modelling in order to clarify their causal relationship towards individual health. Especially, more studies using comparable characteristics of neighbourhood SEP and the objective built environment and analysing interactive effects are necessary to disentangle health impacts and identify vulnerable neighbourhoods and population groups.     

Developing and testing a framework for the assessment of neighbourhood liveability in two contrasting countries: Iran and Estonia

A growing body of evidence indicates that the environmental quality of residential neighbourhoods has an impact on their liveability. It can be a contributory factor to the prosperity and development of cities because it reflects the real-life experiences of residents and can also affect the attractiveness of a city for well-qualified workers. A liveable neighbourhood can help to improve the quality of life of residents, which is one of the determining factors in creating a socially sustainable urban environment. This research aimed to develop a practical method for assessing the liveability of a residential neighbourhood, tested in two contrasting countries, Iran and Estonia. We developed and tested a set of criteria based on the principles and attributes of liveability obtained from the literature and we used a Delphi survey of Iranian and Estonian urban planning and design experts to identify which of the candidate criteria were most appropriate to each country together with their priority weighting. The results showed that while many of the same criteria applied to both countries, the importance of them varied, in part reflecting environmental differences such as climate and day length. The method has potential for use in the development of indicators of liveability as part of urban sustainability assessment.     

Association of Neighbourhood and Individual Social Capital,Neighbourhood Economic Deprivation and Self-Rated Health in South Africa – a Multi-Level Analysis

Introduction

Social capital is said to influence health, mostly in research undertaken in high income countries'' settings. Because social capital may differ from one setting to another, it is suggested that its measurement be context specific. We examine the association of individual and neighbourhood level social capital, and neighbourhood deprivation to self-rated health using a multi-level analysis.

Methods

Data are taken from the 2008 South Africa National Income Dynamic Survey. Health was self-reported on a scale from 1 (excellent) to 5 (poor). Two measures of social capital were used: individual, measured by two variables denoting trust and civic participation; and neighbourhood social capital, denoting support, association, behaviour and safety in a community.

Results

Compared to males, females were less likely to report good health (Odds Ratio 0.82: Confidence Interval 0.73, 0.91). There were variations in association of individual social capital and self-rated health among the provinces. In Western Cape (1.37: 0.98, 1.91) and North West (1.39: 1.13, 1.71), trust was positively associated with reporting good health, while the reverse was true in Limpopo (0.56: 0.38, 0.84) and Free State (0.70: 0.48, 1.02). In Western Cape (0.60: 0.44, 0.82) and Mpumalanga (0.72: 0.55, 0.94), neighbourhood social capital was negatively associated with reporting good health. In North West (1.59: 1.27, 1.99) and Gauteng (1.90: 1.21, 2.97), increased neighbourhood social capital was positively associated with reporting good health.

Conclusion

Our study demonstrated the importance of considering contextual factors when analysing the relationship between social capital and health. Analysis by province showed variations in the way in which social capital affected health in different contexts. Further studies should be undertaken to understand the mechanisms through which social capital impacts on health in South Africa.     

Human evolutionary aspects and urban dwelling features

Planning and architecture of modern housing projects should take into account the fact that human well-being depends very much on needs derived from the natural history of human evolutionary aspects, which include territoriality, security, and a balance between privacy and communal activity. Although model housing projects should consider space, all to often the need for privacy and the importance of the residential environment has been neglected. Putative consequences are a loss of social coherence, resulting in anonymity, vandalism and an increase in crime rates. On a game theoretical basis, we predict that a tendency for cooperation grows with the increasing probability of future meetings among inhabitants. The higher the probability to re-meet co-residents, the more interactions are to be expected. Frequent meetings lead to reciprocal recognition and enable the inhabitants to control their environment by identifying straners. This mechanism results in the identification with a common territory. Friendly interactions between residents are a motor for and an indicator of satisfactory living conditions. For this study, six different Viennese residential apartment blocks were selected and their quality measured using a checklist. The behavior of the residents was recorded using ethological standard methods (N = 1653), their subjective evaluation was assessed by on-site interviews (N = 300), and the frequency of physical incivilities was counted. The results support the hypotheses. The classification of urban environments relating to the presence of the above-listed features indicates that high habitat quality covaries with differences in preference for the site, extent of friendly interactions and familiarity with other residents, and occurrences of incivilities. One may conclude that the importance of the quality of the habitat environment cannot be overestimated, as its socially integrative potential is a means to counteract anonymity and crime incidence in cities.     

Quantifying neighbourhood socioeconomic effects in clustering of behaviour-related risk factors: a multilevel analysis

Background

The extent to which neighbourhood characteristics explain accumulation of health behaviours is poorly understood. We examined whether neighbourhood disadvantage was associated with co-occurrence of behaviour-related risk factors, and how much of the neighbourhood differences in the co-occurrence can be explained by individual and neighbourhood level covariates.

Methods

The study population consisted of 60 694 Finnish Public Sector Study participants in 2004 and 2008. Neighbourhood disadvantage was determined using small-area level information on household income, education attainment, and unemployment rate, and linked with individual data using Global Positioning System-coordinates. Associations between neighbourhood disadvantage and co-occurrence of three behaviour-related risk factors (smoking, heavy alcohol use, and physical inactivity), and the extent to which individual and neighbourhood level covariates explain neighbourhood differences in co-occurrence of risk factors were determined with multilevel cumulative logistic regression.

Results

After adjusting for age, sex, marital status, and population density we found a dose-response relationship between neighbourhood disadvantage and co-occurrence of risk factors within each level of individual socioeconomic status. The cumulative odds ratios for the sum of health risks comparing the most to the least disadvantaged neighbourhoods ranged between 1.13 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03–1.24) and 1.75 (95% CI, 1.54–1.98). Individual socioeconomic characteristics explained 35%, and neighbourhood disadvantage and population density 17% of the neighbourhood differences in the co-occurrence of risk factors.

Conclusions

Co-occurrence of poor health behaviours associated with neighbourhood disadvantage over and above individual''s own socioeconomic status. Neighbourhood differences cannot be captured using individual socioeconomic factors alone, but neighbourhood level characteristics should also be considered.     

Effects of exercise and poor indoor air quality on learning,memory and blood IGF-1 in adolescent mice

It is known that regular aerobic exercise enhances cognitive functions and increases blood insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels. People living in urban areas spend most of their time indoors and indoor air quality can affect health. We investigated the effects of aerobic exercise in poor and good air quality environments on hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) neurons, anxiety, and spatial learning and memory in adolescent mice. Poor air quality impaired spatial learning and memory; exercise did not affect learning or memory impairment. Exercise in a good air quality environment improved spatial learning and memory. Poor air quality increased apoptosis in the hippocampus and PFC. Both exercised and sedentary groups living in a poor air quality environment had lower serum IGF-1 levels than those living in a good air quality environment. Living in a poor air quality environment has negative effects on the hippocampus, PFC and blood IGF-1 levels in adolescent mice, but exercise did not alter the negative effects of poor air quality.     

Gender Differentials in Self-Rated Health and Self-Reported Disability among Adults in India

Background

The extant literature on gender differentials in health in developed countries suggests that women outlive men at all ages, but women report poorer health than men. It is well established that Indian women live longer than men, but few studies have been conducted to understand the gender dimension in self-rated health and self-reported disability. The present study investigates gender differentials in self-rated health (SRH) and self-reported disability (SRD) among adults in India, using a nationally representative data.

Methods

Using data on 10,736 respondents aged 18 and older in the 2007 WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health in India, prevalence estimates of SRH are calculated separately for men and women by socio-economic and demographic characteristics. The association of SRH with gender is tested using a multinomial logistic regression method. SRD is assessed using 20 activities of daily living (ADL). Further, gender differences in total life expectancy (TLE), disability life expectancy (DLE) and the proportion of life spent with a disability at various adult ages are measured.

Results

The relative risk of reporting poor health by women was significantly higher than men (relative risk ratio: 1.660; 95% confidence Interval (CI): 1.430–1.927) after adjusting for socio-economic and demographic characteristics. Women reported higher prevalence of severe and extreme disability than men in 14 measures out of a total20 ADL measures. Women aged less than 60 years reported two times more than men in SRD ≥ 5 ADLs. Finally, both DLE and proportion of life spent with a disability were substantially higher for women irrespective of their ages.

Conclusion

Indian women live longer but report poorer health than men. A substantial gender differential is found in self-reported disability. This makes for an urgent call to health researchers and policy makers for gender-sensitive programs.     

Oral health and dental care facilities in Maltese residential homes

Objectives: To establish oral health care practices, including the use of dental services, in the residential homes of Malta and Gozo by assessing the knowledge of home managers and assistance of care staff regarding residents’ oral health and hygiene; and evaluating the residents’ demand for dental treatment and residential home managers response to this demand. Subjects: A total population sample of licensed residential homes (38) in Malta and Gozo was used comprising all home managers in government (seven), church (20), and privately run (11) residential homes. Method: A 19‐question questionnaire was designed, piloted and sent to the home managers requesting them to report on the dental care provision for their elderly residents. The questionnaire was distributed by post, along with a reply‐paid envelope and an explanatory letter. A response deadline of 1 month was included. Results: An 87% response rate was achieved. Whilst the majority of home managers (64%) were aware of domiciliary dental services, there was no code of care practice for oral health. Routine dental check‐ups were not organised for residents of most homes. Although home staffs were generally given information about residents’ oral health and hygiene, the majority did not assist residents with oral hygiene. Home managers identified the following barriers to the use of dental services by residents: cost, communication problems with dental staff, journey to place of treatment, waiting time at the dental clinic, access to premises/clinic, lack of information on oral health and dental service availability, no one to accompany the person to the clinic, and health problems such as mobility, poor eyesight, hearing impairment and mental health status. Conclusion: Although most home managers appreciate the importance of oral health care for their residents, the residents still face many barriers to maintaining adequate oral health care and accessing dental services.     

应用条件价值评估法对无锡市五里湖综合治理的评价

在政府环境审计项目中,政府审计机关面临着对环境改善效益进行评估的需要。由于环境资源不具有市场价值,目前条件价值评估方法是唯一能对环境物品进行评估的技术方法。首先对条件价值评估方法及其步骤进行了分析,然后将其应用于实际的审计案例,验证其可行性和有效性。案例研究把江苏省无锡市五里湖作为假想市场,以元锡市当地居民和来此旅游的游客为调查对象,利用问卷调查方式针对五里湖环境改善前后公众的满意度、受访者的旅游支付意愿以及对综合整治工程的资助意愿进行调查分析。对452位受访者调查结果显示,受访者对于五里湖环境改善后的满意度确有显著提高;在环境改善后受访者的旅游支付意愿为89．1元（总支付金额22275万元）,与改善前的支付意愿22．6元（总支付金额5650万元）相比有较大提高;对综合整治工程的资助意愿为平均每人140．2元（总支付金额62063万元）;然后从受访者不同的社会经济属性及对自然生态的认识与态度等各种因素,对受访者的支付意愿进行分析显示,对公众满意度影响最显著的因素是家庭年收入和职业,对五里湖综合整治工程的资助意愿影响最显著的因素是家庭年收入和教育程度,而所在地域、性别、年龄及是否参加环保社团对支付意愿无显著性影响。     

Health-related quality of life and associated factors among Onchocerciasis patients in southeast Nigeria: A cross-sectional comparative study

IntroductionOnchocerciasis, a neglected tropical disease of public health importance, causes chronic morbidity and severe disability that may impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of the infected people. This study assessed the HRQoL and associated factors among onchocerciasis patients in southeast Nigeria.MethodsThis was a community-based cross-sectional comparative study. Using a multistage sampling technique, 340 onchocerciasis patients were selected and matched for age and gender with the healthy population in the same neighbourhood. The respondents were interviewed using the short-form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire to determine their HRQoL. WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 tool (WHODAS 2.0) was used to assess disability in persons with onchocerciasis. Means were compared with independent student t-test while Chi-square test was used to compare proportions. Also, correlation analysis and logistic regression were used in the analyses.ResultsA significantly lower proportion of people living with onchocerciasis had a good quality of life when compared with the healthy subjects (69.4% vs 93.5%, p<0.001). Also, an inverse relationship was seen between disability and quality of life in the onchocerciasis group (r = -0.647, p<0.001). Predictors of poor quality of life among respondents with onchocerciasis were: respondents aged ≥48 years (AOR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.4–5.0), those with some disability associated with onchocerciasis (AOR = 3.33, 95%CI: 1.4–5.0) and respondents who perceived themselves as a burden to people (AOR = 10, 95%CI: 2.5–20).ConclusionOnchocerciasis impacted negatively on HRQoL of persons with onchocerciasis when compared with the healthy population. The quality of life of persons affected with onchocerciasis reduces with increasing disability. There is the need to increase community awareness on onchocerciasis to ensure early diagnosis and prompt treatment as this will reduce disability among those affected with the disease thus enhancing their HRQoL.     

Individual wealth rank, community wealth inequality, and self-reported adult poor health: a test of hypotheses with panel data (2002-2006) from native Amazonians, Bolivia

Growing evidence suggests that economic inequality in a community harms the health of a person. Using panel data from a small-scale, preindustrial rural society, we test whether individual wealth rank and village wealth inequality affects self-reported poor health in a foraging-farming native Amazonian society. A person's wealth rank was negatively but weakly associated with self-reported morbidity. Each step up/year in the village wealth hierarchy reduced total self-reported days ill by 0.4 percent. The Gini coefficient of village wealth inequality bore a positive association with self-reported poor health that was large in size, but not statistically significant. We found small village wealth inequality, and evidence that individual economic rank did not change. The modest effects may have to do with having used subjective rather than objective measures of health, having small village wealth inequality, and with the possibly true modest effect of a person's wealth rank on health in a small-scale, kin-based society. Finally, we also found that an increase in mean individual wealth by village was related to worse self-reported health. As the Tsimane' integrate into the market economy, their possibilities of wealth accumulation rise, which may affect their well-being. Our work contributes to recent efforts in biocultural anthropology to link the study of social inequalities, human biology, and human-environment interactions.     

Social determinants of health--a comparative study of Bosnian adolescents in different cultural contexts

This study investigated the effects of sociocultural contexts on health and the psychological well-being of immigrant adolescents, aged 15 to 18 years, originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina and now living as displaced persons either in Bosnia, or immigrants in Croatia and Austria. The study addresses the social determinants of health with a specific focus on five factors in the social environment that might have an influence on health status: gender, socio-economic status (SES), perceived discrimination and exposure to violence, social support and religious commitment. Dependent variables included self-rated health, a count of self-reported objective health problems and a range of indices of psychological well-being (somatic stress, anxiety, depression and self-esteem). The purpose of the study was to examine whether social risk factors have an effect on health, which factors mediate these effects on self-rated health and to assess whether these effects differ by gender Results indicate that perceived discrimination and violence are related to poor health through psychological stress as a major mechanism with stronger effects for girls in the study. Differences across the three socio-cultural contexts reveal the complexity and specificity of the relationships between analyzed factors as the association between discrimination and health was attenuated for some groups due to the protective resources of immigrants.     

Association between Social Integration and Health among Internal Migrants in ZhongShan,China

Internal migrants are the individuals who migrate between regions in one country. The number of internal migrants were estimated at 245 million in China in 2013. Results were inconsistent in the literature about the relationship between their health statuses and social integration. The main difference exists on how to measure the social integration and whether health statuses of internal migrants improve with years of residence. To complement the existing literature, this study measured social integration more comprehensively and estimated the internal migrants’ health statuses with varying years of residence, and explored the associations between the migrants’ social integration and health. We used the data from 2014 Internal Migrant Dynamic Monitoring Survey of Health and Family Planning in ZhongShan, China. Health status was measured from four aspects: self-reported health, subjective well-being, perception of stress, mental health. We measured social integration through four dimensions: economy, social communication, acculturation, and self-identity. The analyses used multiple linear regressions to examine the associations between self-reported health, subjective well-being, and perception of stress, mental health and social integration. The analytical sample included 1,999 households of the internal migrants and 1,997 local registered households, who were permanent residents in ZhongShan. Among the internal migrants, Adults in the labor force, who were aged 25 to 44 years old, accounted for 91.2% of the internal migrant population, while 74.6% of the registered population were in that age group. Median residential time among migrants was 2.8 (1.3–6.2) years, and 20.2% of them were migrating in the same Guangdong province. Except for mental health, other health statuses among migrants had significant differences compared with local registered population, e.g. self-reported health was better, but subjective well-being was worse. However, these health measurements were improved with more years of residence. Moreover, our results show that two aspects of social integration, economic integration and self-identity, were significantly associated with health status. Subjective feeling of relative social status levels were more associated with health, which prompted the attention to social fairness and the creation of a fair and respectful culture. More interventions could be experimented, such as encouraging internal migrants to participate in community activities more actively, educating local registered residents to treat internal migrants more equally, and developing self-identity among internal migrants. Better social, economic, and cultural environment can benefit internal migrants’ health statuses.     

Quality of life in people with physical disabilities

The aim of this study was to examine the possible differences in self-reported quality of life of people with physical disabilities with regard to both socio-demographic and disability-related characteristics. Testing was conducted on 153 respondents with physical disabilities, residents of the City of Zagreb. Positive correlations were found between the quality of life and income satisfaction, residence size (per capita floor area) and level of residence equipment. Multivariate analysis of variance showed statistically significant differences in quality of life among respondents with regard to the marital status, work status and home ownership. Statistically significant differences in the quality of life were found among the participants depending on their level of physical mobility and type of physical disability. The level of physical mobility is associated with general satisfaction with the accomplishment of goals, aspirations and hopes. The type of physical disability is related to the satisfaction with leisure activities, with the material status, expectations to achieve in the future what has not formerly been achieved. There was also a significant relation between the type of physical disability and general satisfaction with life in the past year. Positive correlations between duration of disability and quality of life were found. Membership in associations of persons with physical disability and related benefits were shown to contribute to the quality of life.     

The influence of shape and colour cue classes on facial health perception

Facial appearance signals information about an individual, and one trait in particular is vitally important for social interaction and mate choice decisions: physical health. Facial cues to health can be divided into two broad classes - facial shape, which is linked to previous health and is relatively fixed; and facial colouration, which changes over the short-term, reflecting current health. These cue classes in themselves give insight into the kinds of health condition valued by human observers when making social inferences. Here, using novel and generalizable methods, the influence of these cue classes on health perception and their link to a measure of general health are examined. Study One employs a Brunswik lens model approach, finding that observers utilise exclusively shape cues to judge health, and that of these shape cues, only averageness is related to a measure of self-reported general health. Study Two shows that when averageness and carotenoid colouration are varied together, both make separable contributions to perceived health, but that averageness explains a larger proportion of variance. Taken together, these results indicate that humans may have evolved to favour cues to previous condition when judging health, because they are more valid. However, the findings also suggest that the role of facial appearance in perceiving health is more complex than previously thought, with different cues potentially reflecting specific aspects of physiological health.     

Prevalence and Correlates of Physical Inactivity among Older Adults in Rio Grande do Sul,Brazil

BackgroundCurrent information on the epidemiology of physical inactivity among older adults is lacking, making it difficult to target the inactive and to plan for interventions to ameliorate adverse effects.ObjectivesTo present statewide representative findings on the prevalence of physical inactivity among older community residents, its correlates and associated health service use.MethodsA representative non-institutionalized random sample of 6963 individuals in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, aged ≥60 years, was interviewed face-to-face. Information was obtained on demographic characteristics, social resources, health conditions and behaviors, health service use, and physical inactivity. Controlled logistic regression was used to determine the association of physical inactivity with these characteristics.ResultsOverall, 62% reported no regular physical activity. Physical inactivity was significantly more prevalent among women, older persons, those with lower education and income, Afro-Brazilians (73%; White: 61%; “other”: 64%), those no longer married, and was associated with multiple individual health conditions and impaired activities of daily living (ADL). In adjusted analyses, associations remained for sociodemographic characteristics, social participation, impaired self-rated health, ADL, vision, and depression (odds ratios (OR) 1.2–1.7). Physically inactive respondents were less likely to report outpatient visits (OR 0.81), but more likely to be hospitalized (OR 1.41).ConclusionsPhysical inactivity is highly prevalent, particularly among Afro -Brazilians. It is associated with adverse sociodemographic characteristics; lack of social interaction; and poor self-rated health, ADL, vision, and depression; although not with other health conditions. Self-care may be neglected, resulting in hospitalization.     

Community health impacts of surface mining in the Upper West Region of Ghana: The roles of mining odors and dust

The emergence of the gold mining industry and the influx of artisanal and small-scale mining following recent discoveries of gold deposits in Northern Ghana have posed new socio-cultural, economic, environment and health challenges for residents in this dry savannah zone that is already facing negative consequences of environmental change. Yet, the extent to which residents in close proximity (impacted) and distant (affected) host communities perceive the impact of mining on their health has been nascent. Using cross sectional survey data (n=801) and applying the negative log-log regression technique, we examine residents’ self-rated health in mining communities in the Upper West Region of Ghana. The findings suggest that residents in impacted communities who believed that odors from mining activities could have health impact were twice more likely to report their health as poor, while those who were uncertain were 98% more likely to rate their health poor compared to those who disbelieved. However, sighting of dust was not significantly associated with subjective health in both impacted and affected communities. Based on these findings, it is recommended that Ghana's Minerals and Mining Act be reviewed to include the active involvement of host communities in mine leases while enforcing strict environmental best practices.