Housing Quality in a Rural and an Urban Settlement in South Africa

Angela Mathee; Jocelyn Moyes; Thulisa Mkhencele; Jackie Kleynhans; Brigitte Language; Stuart Piketh; Elias Moroe; Floidy Wafawanaka; Neil Martinson; Meredith McMorrow; Stefano Tempia; Kathleen Kahn; Cheryl Cohen

doi:10.3390/ijerph18052240

Housing Quality in a Rural and an Urban Settlement in South Africa

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 24;18(5):2240. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18052240.

Authors

Angela Mathee^{1

2

3}, Jocelyn Moyes⁴, Thulisa Mkhencele⁴, Jackie Kleynhans⁴, Brigitte Language⁵, Stuart Piketh⁵, Elias Moroe⁶, Floidy Wafawanaka⁷, Neil Martinson⁶, Meredith McMorrow^{8

9}, Stefano Tempia^{8

9

10}, Kathleen Kahn⁷, Cheryl Cohen^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Environment and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa.
² Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa.
³ Environmental Health Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa.
⁴ Center for Respiratory Disease and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa.
⁵ Unit for Environmental Science and Management, School of Geo- and Spatial Science, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa.
⁶ Perinatal HIV Research Unit (PHRU), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 1864, South Africa.
⁷ MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa.
⁸ Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
⁹ Influenza Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-South Africa, Pretoria 0181, South Africa.
¹⁰ MassGenics, Duluth, GA 30096, USA.

Abstract

During 2016 to 2018, a prospective household cohort study of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus community burden and transmission dynamics (the PHIRST study) was undertaken to examine the factors associated with influenza and other respiratory pathogen transmissions in South Africa. We collected information on housing conditions in the PHIRST study sites: Rural villages near Agincourt, Bushbuckridge Municipality, Mpumalanga Province, and urban Jouberton Township in North West Province. Survey data were collected from 159 and 167 study households in Agincourt and Jouberton, respectively. Multiple housing-related health hazards were identified in both sites, but particularly in Agincourt. In Agincourt, 75% (119/159) of households reported daily or weekly interruptions in water supply and 98% (154/159) stored drinking water in miscellaneous containers, compared to 1% (1/167) and 69% (115/167) of households in Jouberton. Fuels other than electricity (such as wood) were mainly used for cooking by 44% (70/159) and 7% (11/167) of Agincourt and Jouberton households, respectively; and 67% (106/159) of homes in Agincourt versus 47% (79/167) in Jouberton were located on unpaved roads, which is associated with the generation of dust and particulate matter. This study has highlighted housing conditions in Agincourt and Jouberton that are detrimental to health, and which may impact disease severity or transmission in South African communities.

Keywords: South Africa; air pollution; environmental health; fuel use; housing; water.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Air Pollution, Indoor* / analysis
Cohort Studies
Cooking
Housing*
Humans
Prospective Studies
Rural Population
South Africa

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding