The Effect of Seasonal Floods on Health: Analysis of Six Years of National Health Data and Flood Maps

Abstract

There is limited knowledge on the effect of seasonal flooding on health over time. We quantified the short- and long-term effects of floods on selected health indicators at public healthcare facilities in 11 districts in Cambodia, a flood-prone setting. Counts of inpatient discharge diagnoses and outpatient consultations for diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, skin infections, injuries, noncommunicable diseases and vector-borne diseases were retrieved from public healthcare facilities for each month between January 2008 and December 2013. Flood water was mapped by month, in square kilometers, from satellite data. Poisson regression models with three lag months were constructed for the health problems in each district, controlled for seasonality and long-term trends. During times of flooding and three months after, there were small to moderate increases in visits to healthcare facilities for skin infections, acute respiratory infections, and diarrhea, while no association was seen at one to two months. The associations were small to moderate, and a few of our results were significant. We observed increases in care seeking for diarrhea, skin infections, and acute respiratory infections following floods, but the associations are uncertain. Additional research on previous exposure to flooding, using community- and facility-based data, would help identify expected health risks after floods in flood-prone settings.

Understanding the Impact of Rainfall on Diarrhea: Testing the Concentration-Dilution Hypothesis Using a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…(1) Yes (2) Unable to test (1a) These associations were strongest for bacterial and all-cause diarrhea (1b) The strongest positive associations were 4-7 days after flood events (2) Studies often did not report the length of flood events in the literature 26 articles (Abu and Codjoe 2018, Cash et al 2014, Cesa et al 2016, Colston et al 2020, Deilami et al 2017, Fredrick et al 2015Gao et al 2016, Gertler et al 2015, Gong et al 2019, Jones et al 2016, Koley et al 2014, Liu X et al 2016, Liu Z et al 2018, Martinez et al 2016, Natuzzi et al 2016, Rosinger 2018, Saulnier et al 2018, Song Q et al 2018, Thompson et al 2015…”

Economic Evaluation of Environmental Interventions: Reflections on Methodological Challenges and Developments

“…Flood risk management policies perfectly illustrate the context and time-scale dependence of the range of expected health benefits of reducing environmental hazards. In the short-run, the main health impacts of floods consist of deaths from drowning, injuries, and waterborne diseases [ 18 ]. Over a longer time horizon, floods and their damaging economic consequences have often been associated with adverse effects on mental health [ 19 ].…”

Staying afloat: community perspectives on health system resilience in the management of pregnancy and childbirth care during floods in Cambodia

“…41 study design, participant selection and access The two study districts were selected because of their exposure to floods: one district floods seasonally (every year) and the other floods occasionally (every few years). 42 The study used flood terminology developed from and contextualised for the districts and villages. In the seasonally flooded district, the terms 'small water' (floods land around the village but does not flood major roads) and 'big water' (floods land in the village and roads so that travel requires a boat) were used.…”