Factors associated with self-reported health outcomes by residents residing near Oshakati municipal disposal site in Oshana region, Namibia

Abstract

Environmental pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that have the potential to cause adverse health outcomes. Open waste disposal sites are among the main causes of environmental pollution and public health hazards. In Namibia, majority of the towns, including Oshakati town, use waste disposal sites for waste disposal, a method that is known to cause environmental and public health hazards. Residents near Oshakati Municipal Disposal site raised health concerns which they link to the presence of the disposal site in their neighbourhood. In addition, medical records from Oshakati State Hospital revealed that diarrhoea diseases, respiratory and eye diseases were among the top ten morbidities reported at the hospital from 2014 to 2017. This study sought to assess association between the number self-reported health outcomes cases by residents and living near Oshakati Municipal Disposal site. Health outcomes in this study were acute respiratory symptoms, eye infections and diarrhoea cases. This was a cross sectional study which targeted households in two villages located 10 km apart, of which one is where the waste disposal site is located. The study used cluster sampling method and utilized a closed-ended researcher administered questionnaire in all 103 households within the study area. For each household, the number of reported cases of each health outcome of interest and the characteristics of the household were recorded. Collectively, this study revealed that nearly all households contracted at least one case of acute respiratory symptom, about half of the households contracted at least one case of eye infections and a few households contracted at least one case of diarrhoea. Nearby household members, however contracted double the number of cases contracted by household members far from the disposal site. Results from Poisson regression analysis revealed that residing near Oshakati Municipal Disposal site increased the risk ratio of contracting Acute Respiratory Symptoms in a household, as compared to residing far from the disposal site (IRR 1.562, 95% CI=1.142, 2.136, p value = 0.005). The use of firewood for cooking did not show any significant association with the reported cases of Acute Respiratory Symptoms. For eye infections, longer duration and the use of electricity for cooking significantly increased the risk ratio of contracting eye infections. There was however no significant association between any of the predictor variables and contracting of diarrhoea. In this study, Oshakati Municipal Disposal site was found to be a potential health hazard and a significant risk factor for contracting Acute Respiratory Symptoms among surrounding residents. It is therefore recommended that the council strictly enforce waste management laws and regulations, encourage community participation in waste management. In the long run, the council should consider relocating the disposal site far away from the residential area and finding a suitable site to construct an engineered landfill. Keywords: waste disposal site, health outcomes, resident