Effect of Improved Sanitary Facilities on Infant Diarrhea in a Hopi Village

Abstract

DIARRHEA is a major health problem among southwestern Indian infants (1, 2). Many environmental factors have been implicated in the high prevalence of diarrheal disease on Indian reservations and at all socioeconomic levels where living conditions are poor. Among these factors, the availability of water for personal hygiene is of prime importance in the control of diarrheal disease (3-5). Adequate sewage disposal systems including indoor flush toilets are also important in diarrheal disease control (6). Although the infant in his first year of life neither uses a toilet nor washes himself, the sanitary problems of his mother are reflected in the infant's health status. Because children

The causes of porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia: A reappraisal of the iron‐deficiency‐anemia hypothesis

“…Diarrheal disease was a major health problem for Puebloan people during the first part of the 20th century before plumbing for indoor water and toilets became available (Aberle, 1932;Lasersohn, 1965;Rubenstein et al, 1969). Aberle (1932) documented high infant mortality rates from gastrointestinal infections at two Tanoan Pueblos and attributed this in part to poor hygiene.…”

The elusive effect of water and sanitation on the global burden of disease

“…The studies on water and sanitation conducted in low‐income settings since the 1970s were usually simple in design (Rubenstein et al . ; Aziz et al . ; Zhang et al .…”

“…The studies on water and sanitation conducted in lowincome settings since the 1970s were usually simple in design (Rubenstein et al 1969;Aziz et al 1990;Zhang et al 2000Zhang et al , 2005Azurin & Alvero 2007). Typically, a programme to improve water access would be implemented in one or two villages, with latrine construction and some form of hygiene education being provided at the same time.…”

Public health investments and the infant mortality gap: Evidence from federal sanitation interventions on U.S. Indian reservations

“…However, it is worth noting that the costs of morbidity associated with infectious disease are high, even in the absence of fatalities. A study of two villages on the Hopi Reservation in the 1960s found that the average infant visited a doctor 2-3 times for diarrhea-related illness (Rubenstein et al, 1969). 44 More recent studies find much lower rates of illness, and continued declines since 1980 (Holman et al, 1999).…”