International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume 13, Issue 1, 2015

A pilot study to examine the disparities in water quality between predominantly haitian neighborhoods and dominican neighborhoods in two cities in the Dominican Republic (Article) (Open Access)

Rogers-Brown J.* , Johnson R. , Smith D. , Ramsey-White K.
  • a Center for Excellence on Health Disparities Research, School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, United States
  • b Center for Excellence on Health Disparities Research, School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, United States
  • c Center for Excellence on Health Disparities Research, School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, United States
  • d Center for Excellence on Health Disparities Research, School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, United States

Abstract

Worldwide, diarrheal disease is a leading cause of death affecting over 1.7 million individuals annually. Much of this can be attributed to lack of clean water, sanitation and hygiene. Nearly all of these deaths occur in countries with developing economies. This public health problem is apparent in the island of Hispaniola; the island that is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Significant gaps in income between the countries have resulted in Haitians migrating into the Dominican Republic. While there has been increased migration into the Dominican Republic, many of the neighborhoods remain segregated. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted at 49 sites in the Dominican Republic. Samples were classified as being from a Haitian neighborhood or Dominican neighborhood and analyzed for microbial contamination. Overall, Haitian neighborhoods were found to have statistically significantly higher levels of contamination of both coliform and E. coli. The odds of having E. coli contaminated water in Haitian neighborhoods are 4.25 times as high as Dominican neighborhoods. The odds of having coliform contaminated water in Haitian neighborhoods are 4.78 times as high as Dominican neighborhoods. This study provides evidence of the disparity in access to clean drinking water for Haitian immigrants and highlights the need for further investigation. © 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Author Keywords

E. coli Water quality health disparities Waterborne disease Developing economies

Index Keywords

Escherichia coli coliform bacterium developing country health disparity Health Status Disparities human epidemiology waterborne disease microbial contamination water contamination ethnology Urban Health neighborhood Water Microbiology Dominican Republic Cross-Sectional Studies Haiti hygiene sanitation social status cross-sectional study Humans pilot study developing world diarrhea isolation and purification Article migration microbiology public health problem Drinking Water Healthcare Disparities health care disparity Pilot Projects Water quality public health immigrant population
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84951772079&doi=10.3390%2fijerph13010039&partnerID=40&md5=30be2d8e04a0092b200ce568e562d5e6
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph13010039
ISSN: 16617827
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English