HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Stoler, J. Articles by Hill, A. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Stoler, J. Articles by Hill, A. G. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Malaria

Distance Threshold for the Effect of Urban Agriculture on Elevated Self-reported Malaria Prevalence in Accra, Ghana

Irrigated urban agriculture (UA), which has helped alleviate poverty and increase food security in rapidly urbanizing sub-Saharan Africa, may inadvertently support malaria vectors. Previous studies have not identified a variable distance effect on malaria prevalence from UA. This study examines the relationships between self-reported malaria information for 3,164 women surveyed in Accra, Ghana, in 2003, and both household characteristics and proximity to sites of UA. Malaria self-reports are associated with age, education, overall health, socioeconomic status, and solid waste disposal method. The odds of self-reported malaria are significantly higher for women living within 1 km of UA compared with all women living near an irrigation source, the association disappearing beyond this critical distance. Malaria prevalence is often elevated in communities within 1 km of UA despite more favorable socio-economic characteristics than communities beyond 1 km. Neighborhoods within 1 km of UA should be reconsidered as a priority for malaria-related care.

Received September 18, 2008. Accepted for publication December 30, 2008.

Acknowledgments: The authors acknowledge the generosity of Martin Donnelly and the Vector Group at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in sharing data used in an earlier draft of this paper. The Women’s Health Study of Accra was co-directed by Allan G. Hill and Rosemary B. Duda (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) with Ghanaian counterparts, Drs. Rudolph Darko, John K. Anarfi, Richard Adanu, and Richard Biritwum (University of Ghana).

Financial support: This research was supported by Grants R21 HD046612-01 and R01 HD054906-01 from the Ethel Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The Women’s Health Study of Accra was funded by the World Health Organization, the US Agency for International Development, and the Fulbright New Century Scholars Award (AGH).

^* Address correspondence to Justin Stoler, Department of Geography, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182. E-mail: stoler{at}rohan.sdsu.edu

Authors’ addresses: Justin Stoler, Department of Geography, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182, Tel: 619-594-5437, Fax: 619-594-4938, E-mail: stoler{at}rohan.sdsu.edu. John R. Weeks, Department of Geography, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182, Tel: 619-594-8040, Fax: 619-594-4938, E-mail: john.weeks{at}sdsu.edu. Arthur Getis, Department of Geography, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182, Tel: 619-594-6639, Fax: 619-594-4938, E-mail: arthur.getis{at}sdsu.edu. Allan G. Hill, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, Tel: 617-432-4075, E-mail: ahill{at}hsph.harvard.edu.