COMMUNITY-BASED INTERVENTIONS IN REDUCING ALCOHOL ABUSE IN KAPSABET WARD, NANDI COUNTY, KENYA
Abstract
Climate change extremes are now a contemporary issue. The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change acknowledges that evidence on trends in public health threats,
including infectious diseases resulting from climate change, exists. The groups most
affected by climate change are those with less ability to adapt to changes, and thus
causing concern for their health. There are also several studies in Sub-Saharan Africa
that are aimed at understanding the morbidity and mortality of diarrhea, pneumonia and
malaria. Nevertheless, literature on the understanding of the relationship between
climate change and the occurrence of diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria are limited. This
study therefore sought to bridge this gap by exploring the relationship between climate
change and the occurrence of infectious diseases (i.e., diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria)
in Tanga, Tanzania.
The study adopted a longitudinal study design using the Health Management
Information System (HMIS) data in Tanga and Handeni districts, Tanzania, for the
period between January 2016 and December 2018. While, the monthly climate change
data (i.e., precipitation, humidity and temperature) for the same period were retrieved
from the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA). The data were analyzed using
Multilevel Mixed-Effects Negative Binomial Regression (MMENBR) to assess the
association between climate change indicators and the infectious diseases as well
regional differences (i.e., Tanga and Handeni districts) using STATA version 13.
The analysis showed a significant relationship between climate change and the
occurrence of infectious diseases. There were mean differences in the climate indicators
and in the occurrence of infectious diseases between Tanga and Handeni districts
among all the age groups except for the newborns (i.e., < 1 month) in different years.
The trend differences, between the two district, in the occurrence of infectious diseases
and climate indicators were also statistically significant. There was an association
between precipitation and an increased rate of diarrhea without dehydration (Adjusted
incidence rate ratio, IRR = 1.01; 95% Confidence interval, CI: 1.00 – 1.01; p ≤ 0.10)
and diarrhea with dehydration (Adjusted IRR = 1.01; 95% CI: 1.01 – 1.02; p ≤ 0.01),
and a reduced rate of malarial infections (Adjusted IRR = 0.99; 95% CI: 0.99 – 0.99; p
≤ 0.001). The relationship between humidity levels and the occurrence of diarrhea
without dehydration (Adjusted IRR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.97 – 0.99; p ≤ 0.05), severe
diarrhea (Adjusted IRR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01 – 1.06; p ≤ 0.05), non-severe pneumonia
(Adjusted IRR = 1.01; 95% CI: 1.01 – 1.02; p ≤ 0.05) and severe pneumonia (Adjusted
IRR = 1.02; 95% CI: 1.01 – 1.03; p ≤ 0.05) were statistically significant.
On the other hand, an increase in the maximum temperature was associate with
an increased incidence of diarrhea with severe dehydration (Adjusted IRR = 1.13; 95%
CI: 1.01 – 1.27; p ≤ 0.05) and malaria as diagnosed using blood smear technique
(Adjusted IRR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.03 – 1.35; p ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, the minimum
temperature was associated with increased rates of malaria as diagnosed using rapid
diagnostic test (Adjusted IRR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.09 – 1.39; p ≤ 0.001). The rates of
malaria were in the opposing directions when using blood smear and rapid diagnostic
test for the different temperature indicators (i.e., maximum and minimum temperature).
In conclusion, there was an association between climate change and the rates of
infectious diseases in Tanga and Handeni districts, Tanzania. The results of this study
have critical policy implications for health intervention programs and resource
allocation during the different seasons. The health facilities should be well equipped
while at the same time health professionals should be prepared to handle the major
infectious diseases in the different seasons of the year.