Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Public Health
Users of a Container-Based Sanitation Service Experience High Sanitation-Related Quality of Life: A Prospective Cohort Study in Cap Haitien, Haiti
Published: 2025-05-25
Subjects: Public Health
Sanitation users often value improved sanitation interventions for social benefits, such as improved safety and dignity. Some sanitation providers have started using well-being measurements to evaluate service impacts beyond infectious disease outcomes. In particular, the Sanitation Quality of Life (SanQoL) Index explores five attributes associated with sanitation wellbeing: health, disgust, [...]
The Role of Climate Services for Health: Theoretical Case Studies on Heat-Health Warning Systems in India
Published: 2025-05-06
Subjects: Public Health
Extreme heat is a growing public health concern across South Asia, with urban populations particularly vulnerable due to high population density, infrastructure gaps, and compounding socioeconomic risks. In this study, we assess the potential health benefits of Heat–Health Warning Systems (HHWS) as a Climate Service for Health (CSH) in urban India and explore their role in enhancing public health [...]
High risk, low concern: The climate perception gap in rural America
Published: 2025-04-26
Subjects: Public Health
Rural communities often demonstrate lower levels of concern and reduced support for climate mitigation and policies. This study examined views of climate risk and political support for climate action in Eastern North Carolina, a largely rural and agricultural region, with limited access to health care, and elevated environmental vulnerability. Understanding climate attitudes in this context is [...]
Interpreting drinking water quality samples: understanding contamination pathways at the point of collection
Published: 2025-04-24
Subjects: Public Health
2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water, with microbiological water quality the major barrier to the achievement of SDG target 6.1. Microbiological water quality is strongly influenced by environmental and hand hygiene. We demonstrate the significant contribution of contamination from hygiene at water collection point localities and at the household level to drinking water [...]
Rural-Urban schism: Access to improved water and sanitation in Sub-Sahara Africa
Published: 2025-04-23
Subjects: Public Health
Abstract Background: Access to potable water and adequate sanitation remains a major public health challenge, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where coverage is critically low, especially in rural areas. Despite progress, disparities between urban and rural populations persist, impacting health outcomes and overall well-being. Objective: This study aimed to identify factors influencing [...]
Effects of Salinity on Menstrual and Reproductive Health: Insights from Coastal and Non-Coastal Areas of Bangladesh.
Published: 2025-04-21
Subjects: Public Health
AbstractBackground: Salinity intrusion in coastal regions of Bangladesh is a growing concern due to its potential impact on public health, particularly reproductive health among women. Exposure to saline water may contribute to a variety of health challenges, including menstrual irregularities and pregnancy complications.Objective: This study aimed to assess the reproductive health challenges [...]
Evaluation of climatic and non-climatic influence on malaria prevalence in the Upper River Region of The Gambia
Published: 2025-04-21
Subjects: Public Health
Despite the scale-up of intervention, malaria remains a burden in the Upper River Region of The Gambia. Climate changes and non-climatic conditions can substantially influence malaria prevalence, and further affect the coverage of preventive interventions. This work aimed at exploring the different climatic and non-climatic risk factors associated with malaria. A descriptive research method using [...]
Field to Flight: Migration Dynamics Amidst Climate/Weather Driven Crop Yield Fluctuations in Burkina Faso
Published: 2025-04-21
Subjects: Public Health
Climate change is anticipated to significantly affect human migration, driven by factors such as crop failures, rising sea levels, and water insecurity. The African continent is particularly vulnerable due to its population's limited adaptive capacity. However, collecting migration data is challenging, especially in regions lacking reliable demographic and epidemiological census data. [...]
Integrating Climate Services into Health Systems for Nutrition Security: A Scoping Review
Published: 2025-04-21
Subjects: Public Health
Climate information services (CIS) are science-based tools used to inform decision-making in climate-sensitive sectors, such as agriculture, water resources, energy, disaster risk reduction and health. These CIS rely on high-quality climate and weather data in order to predict and prepare for specific extreme weather or climate events such as droughts and floods. Within the health sector, most [...]
Levels of Heavy Metals and Associated Human Health Risk Assessment at the Upper Genale-Dawa River Basin of Ethiopia
Published: 2025-04-21
Subjects: Public Health
This study investigates the concentration of heavy metals in the Upper Genale Dawa River Basin to assess water quality and potential health risks. The primary objective was to quantify the levels of heavy metals, and to evaluate the associated risks to human health, particularly concerning non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic effects. Water samples were purposely collected from 24 sites in the River [...]
Socioecological drivers of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) choices: A qualitative analysis of maternal perspectives in northwest Ecuador
Published: 2025-04-21
Subjects: Public Health
Household-level water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions do not always achieve the expected health benefits. Research that considers WASH within a socioecological framework where climatic, infrastructural, economic, and individual factors are interconnected in influencing maternal choices can inform more effective WASH interventions. To understand WASH preferences and priorities under [...]
Waterlogging, Health and Healthcare Access in Southwest Bangladesh
Published: 2025-04-21
Subjects: Public Health
Waterlogging, a form of stagnant flooding, is increasingly affecting southwest Bangladesh and is expected to intensify with the expansion of shrimp farming and climate change, contributing to environmental degradation. However, its impacts on health, health service utilisation and household health expenditures remain poorly understood. We conducted a quantitative study between August and [...]
Planetary health security?: critical scoping review of conceptual linkages between ‘health security’ and ‘planetary health’
Published: 2025-02-28
Subjects: Public Health
Background ‘Health security’ — the subjection of health to ‘security’ frameworks — and ‘planetary health’— the study of human health impacts of the degradation of planetary ecosystems — have emerged in the last decades as prominent global health fields. However, limited literature connects them, particularly incorporating critical perspectives. We explored interactions between these approaches [...]
Rethinking Environmental Sustainability in the Operating Room: Beyond the Reusability Assumption for Surgical Instruments
Published: 2025-02-21
Subjects: Environmental Public Health, Medicine and Health Sciences, Public Health
Addressing the climate crisis is an urgent global priority, yet the healthcare sector continues to face significant challenges in implementing long-term green solutions. The sector accounts for 4.4% of global carbon emissions, with an even greater impact of 7% in the Netherlands. The latest Dutch report- Barometer Groene OK- proposes ten key measures to reduce the healthcare carbon footprint, [...]
Investigating the recommendations and governmental actions to address the emerging risks of vector-borne diseases in Canada’s changing climate: A scoping review
Published: 2024-12-05
Subjects: Public Health
Climate change is expected to increase the risks associated with vector-borne diseases, and its implications for human health are already observed across Canada. The objective of this review was to investigate the recommended adaptation strategies related to the risks associated with vector-borne diseases and examine how various levels of government in Canada are executing these recommended [...]