HOUSEHOLD ENVIRONMENT AND ITS LINKAGE WITH INCIDENCE OF ILLNESS IN INDIA, AS EVIDENCED FROM NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEY
Abstract
An attempt is made to analyse the incidence of some specific types of illness in the study states and tries to investigate the association between incidence of illness and environment of the households.
Data were drawn from 69 round of NSS conducted in 2012. Information on types of illness included in the survey was stomach problem, malaria, skin disease and fever due to disease other than malaria. The present study focused on five states of India and the total number of households covered in these states was 36,433. Among the households in the study states, 'fever due to disease other than malaria' was more widespread illness (41.8percent) followed by 'stomach problem' (26.6percent). UP and Bihar reported a higher incidence of fever (51.2 and 47.7percent respectively). Among the study states, 56.7percent of the households reported any one type of illness during the last 30 days. Incidence of any one type of illness was high among rural households (68.2percent), Muslim families (60.8percent), illiterates (61.3percent), and low UMPCE quintile households (68.0percent). With respect to household environment, households which using improved source of drinking water (pipe), practice of water treatment, hygienic method of water taken from container, using of improved sources of latrine/drainage system and household had proper drainage of waste water were less likely suffered with any one type of illness. Logistic regression analysis shows that almost in each of the variables the odds decrease with categories of a variable when compared to respective variable's first category, indicating a decreasing chance for experiencing any one illness when improving the household environment conditions.
It can be concluded that in the states studied households are facing a number of illnesses. Hence it is recommended that government should provide safe drinking water and good sanitation for the overall quality of life of the population in these major states.
