Selected indicators and determinants of women's health in the vicinity of a copper mine development in northwestern Zambia

Autor: Harrison Ng’uni, Anna Pascall, Kennedy Nduna, Gertrude Musunka, Mirko S. Winkler, Milka Owuor, Astrid M. Knoblauch, Jürg Utzinger, Mark J. Divall
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Health Knowledge
Attitudes
Practice
Vulnerability
Psychological intervention
HIV Infections
Women’s health
0302 clinical medicine
Health facility
Pregnancy
Residence Characteristics
Medicine
Health Status Indicators
030212 general & internal medicine
Migration
Health impact assessment
lcsh:Public aspects of medicine
Obstetrics and Gynecology
General Medicine
Emigration and Immigration
Middle Aged
Community health
Income
Educational Status
HIV/AIDS
Female
Research Article
Adult
Employment
Adolescent
030231 tropical medicine
Zambia
Transactional sex
Birth Setting
Knowledge
attitudes and practices (KAP)
lcsh:Gynecology and obstetrics
Resource extraction
Mining
03 medical and health sciences
Young Adult
Environmental health
Humans
Social determinants of health
Developing Countries
lcsh:RG1-991
Resettlement
business.industry
lcsh:RA1-1270
Health Surveys
Educational attainment
Cross-Sectional Studies
Reproductive Medicine
Women's Health
Health Facilities
Maternal health
business
Copper
Zdroj: BMC Women's Health, Vol 18, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2018)
BMC Women's Health
Popis: Background Large projects in the extractive industry sector can affect people’s health and wellbeing. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), women’s health is of particular concern in such contexts due to potential educational and economic disadvantages, vulnerability to transactional sex and unsafe sex practices. At the same time, community health interventions and development initiatives present opportunities for women's and maternal health. Methods Within the frame of the health impact assessment (HIA) of the Trident copper mining project in Zambia, two health surveys were conducted (baseline in 2011 and follow-up in 2015) in order to monitor health and health-related indicators. Emphasis was placed on women residing in the mining area and, for comparison, in settings not impacted by the project. Results All measured indicators improved over time, regardless of whether communities were affected by the project or not. Additionally, the percentage of mothers giving birth in a health facility, the percentage of women who acknowledge that HIV cannot be transmitted by witchcraft or other supernatural means and the percentage of women having ever tested for HIV showed a significant increase in the impacted sites but not in the comparison communities. In 2015, better health, behavioural and knowledge outcomes in women were associated with employment by the project (or a sub-contractor thereof), migration background, increased wealth and higher educational attainment. Conclusions Our study reveals that natural resource development projects can positively impact women’s health, particularly if health risks are adequately anticipated and managed. Hence, the conduct of a comprehensive HIA should be a requirement at the feasibility stage of any large infrastructure project, particularly in LMICs. Continued monitoring of health outcomes and wider determinants of health after the initial assessment is crucial to judge the project’s influence on health and for reducing inequalities over time. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12905-018-0547-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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