Environment Disease Relationship and Its Impact on Household Economy

Uttam Paudel*

Received: October 01, 2018;   Published: October 23, 2018

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.10.001927

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Abstract

A massive number of Literature is accessible focusing only on the general concern of climate change ignoring the cost valuation of the association between environmental change and human health. Establishment of environment-disease relationship leading to economic consequences is found timely and apposite research at this moment. Therefore, this paper aims to establish environmental-health relationship and its impact on household economy through cost of illness in western part of Nepal. Time series analytical economic evaluation design is employed using secondary data to establish environment-disease relationship with the help of ordinary least square, being based on the econometric theory. The results divulge that environmental variables such as extreme summer temperature warm winter temperature and population density are in favor to increase the disease prevalence, whereas, increasing winter rainfall, immunization coverage and vitamin A coverage among children seemed to reduce the disease prevalence in western Nepal. Similarly, disease-environment relationship showed that 10C increase in temperature increases the disease prevalence at least by 5% in the existing rate of prevalence in western Nepal, controlling other variables.

Above relation in sensitivity analysis assuming linear relationship showed that every 0.50C increase in temperature leads to increase in cost of illness at household level at least by NPR 77.7 million in western Nepal. Establishment of environment-disease relationship concludes that adaptation measures for protecting from summer extreme temperature is an urgent action needed for disease reduction in western Nepal. Besides, controlling population, extension of immunization and vitamin A programs to the children are also seemed to reduce illness in western Nepal. Therefore, recommendations are made accordingly.

Keywords: Western Nepal; Health; Environmental Change; Cost of Illness

Abbreviations: OLS: Ordinary Least Square; DHM: Department of Hydrology and Meteorology; CBS: Central Bureau of Statistics; OPD: Out Patient Department

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