Investigating health impacts of natural resource extraction projects in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania : Protocol for a mixed methods study
Farnham, Andrea ; Cossa ; Dietler, Dominik LU
; Engebretsen, Rebecca
; Leuenberger, Andrea
; Lyatuu, Isaac
; Nimako, Belinda
; Zabre, Hyacinthe R.
; Brugger, Fritz
and Winkler, Mirko S.
(2020)
In JMIR Research Protocols
9(4).
- Abstract
Background: Natural resource extraction projects offer both opportunities and risks for sustainable development and health in host communities. Often, however, the health of the community suffers. Health impact assessment (HIA) can mitigate the risks and promote the benefits of development but is not routinely done in the developing regions that could benefit the most. Objective: Our study aims to investigate health and health determinants in regions affected by extractive industries in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania. The evidence generated in our study will inform a policy dialogue on how HIA can be promoted as a regulatory approach as part of the larger research initiative called the HIA4SD (Health impact assessment for... (More)
Background: Natural resource extraction projects offer both opportunities and risks for sustainable development and health in host communities. Often, however, the health of the community suffers. Health impact assessment (HIA) can mitigate the risks and promote the benefits of development but is not routinely done in the developing regions that could benefit the most. Objective: Our study aims to investigate health and health determinants in regions affected by extractive industries in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania. The evidence generated in our study will inform a policy dialogue on how HIA can be promoted as a regulatory approach as part of the larger research initiative called the HIA4SD (Health impact assessment for sustainable development) project. Methods: The study is a concurrent triangulation, mixed methods, multi-stage, multi-focus project that specifically addresses the topics of governance and policy, social determinants of health, health economics, health systems, maternal and child health, morbidity and mortality, and environmental determinants, as well as the associated health outcomes in natural resource extraction project settings across four countries. To investigate each of these health topics, the project will (1) use existing population-level databases to quantify incidence of disease and other health outcomes and determinants over time using time series analysis; (2) conduct two quantitative surveys on mortality and cost of disease in producer regions; and (3) collect primary qualitative data using focus groups and key informant interviews describing community perceptions of the impacts of extraction projects on health and partnership arrangements between the projects and local and national governance. Differences in health outcomes and health determinants between districts with and without an extraction project will be analyzed using matched geographical analyses in quasi-Poisson regression models and binomial regression models. Costs to the health system and to the households from diseases found to be associated with projects in each country will be estimated retrospectively. Results: Fieldwork for the study began in February 2019 and concluded in February 2020. At the time of submission, qualitative data collection had been completed in all four study countries. In Burkina Faso, 36 focus group discussions and 74 key informant interviews were conducted in three sites. In Ghana, 34 focus group discussions and 64 key informant interviews were conducted in three sites. In Mozambique, 75 focus group discussions and 103 key informant interviews were conducted in four sites. In Tanzania, 36 focus group discussions and 84 key informant interviews were conducted in three sites. Quantitative data extraction and collection is ongoing in all four study countries. Ethical approval for the study was received in all four study countries prior to beginning the fieldwork. Data analyses are underway and results are expected to be published in 2020 and 2021. Conclusions: Disentangling the complex interactions of resource extraction projects with their host communities requires an integrative approach drawing on many methodologies under the HIA umbrella. By using complementary data sources to address the question of population health in project areas from several angles, bias and missing data will be reduced, generating high-quality evidence to aid countries in moving toward sustainable development.
(Less)
- author
- Farnham, Andrea
; Cossa
; Dietler, Dominik
LU
; Engebretsen, Rebecca
; Leuenberger, Andrea
; Lyatuu, Isaac
; Nimako, Belinda
; Zabre, Hyacinthe R.
; Brugger, Fritz
and Winkler, Mirko S.
- publishing date
- 2020-04
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Cost-benefit, DHIS2, DHS, Environmental health, Extractive industry, GIS, Health impact assessment, Mixed methods, Time series
- in
- JMIR Research Protocols
- volume
- 9
- issue
- 4
- article number
- e17138
- publisher
- JMIR Publications Inc.
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85083420209
- ISSN
- 1929-0748
- DOI
- 10.2196/17138
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Funding Information: We are most grateful to the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development (r4d programme) for supporting the HIA4SD project. This work is part of the r4d programme [30], which is a joint funding initiative by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) (grant number 169461). Publisher Copyright: ©Andrea Farnham, Hermínio Cossa, Dominik Dietler, Rebecca Engebretsen, Andrea Leuenberger, Isaac Lyatuu, Belinda Nimako, Hyacinthe R Zabre, Fritz Brugger, Mirko S Winkler.
- id
- f3edb1fd-2af7-4e04-8cbf-261697983f65
- date added to LUP
- 2023-10-12 12:14:28
- date last changed
- 2023-10-12 12:59:33
@article{f3edb1fd-2af7-4e04-8cbf-261697983f65,
abstract = {{<p>Background: Natural resource extraction projects offer both opportunities and risks for sustainable development and health in host communities. Often, however, the health of the community suffers. Health impact assessment (HIA) can mitigate the risks and promote the benefits of development but is not routinely done in the developing regions that could benefit the most. Objective: Our study aims to investigate health and health determinants in regions affected by extractive industries in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania. The evidence generated in our study will inform a policy dialogue on how HIA can be promoted as a regulatory approach as part of the larger research initiative called the HIA4SD (Health impact assessment for sustainable development) project. Methods: The study is a concurrent triangulation, mixed methods, multi-stage, multi-focus project that specifically addresses the topics of governance and policy, social determinants of health, health economics, health systems, maternal and child health, morbidity and mortality, and environmental determinants, as well as the associated health outcomes in natural resource extraction project settings across four countries. To investigate each of these health topics, the project will (1) use existing population-level databases to quantify incidence of disease and other health outcomes and determinants over time using time series analysis; (2) conduct two quantitative surveys on mortality and cost of disease in producer regions; and (3) collect primary qualitative data using focus groups and key informant interviews describing community perceptions of the impacts of extraction projects on health and partnership arrangements between the projects and local and national governance. Differences in health outcomes and health determinants between districts with and without an extraction project will be analyzed using matched geographical analyses in quasi-Poisson regression models and binomial regression models. Costs to the health system and to the households from diseases found to be associated with projects in each country will be estimated retrospectively. Results: Fieldwork for the study began in February 2019 and concluded in February 2020. At the time of submission, qualitative data collection had been completed in all four study countries. In Burkina Faso, 36 focus group discussions and 74 key informant interviews were conducted in three sites. In Ghana, 34 focus group discussions and 64 key informant interviews were conducted in three sites. In Mozambique, 75 focus group discussions and 103 key informant interviews were conducted in four sites. In Tanzania, 36 focus group discussions and 84 key informant interviews were conducted in three sites. Quantitative data extraction and collection is ongoing in all four study countries. Ethical approval for the study was received in all four study countries prior to beginning the fieldwork. Data analyses are underway and results are expected to be published in 2020 and 2021. Conclusions: Disentangling the complex interactions of resource extraction projects with their host communities requires an integrative approach drawing on many methodologies under the HIA umbrella. By using complementary data sources to address the question of population health in project areas from several angles, bias and missing data will be reduced, generating high-quality evidence to aid countries in moving toward sustainable development.</p>}},
author = {{Farnham, Andrea and Cossa and Dietler, Dominik and Engebretsen, Rebecca and Leuenberger, Andrea and Lyatuu, Isaac and Nimako, Belinda and Zabre, Hyacinthe R. and Brugger, Fritz and Winkler, Mirko S.}},
issn = {{1929-0748}},
keywords = {{Cost-benefit; DHIS2; DHS; Environmental health; Extractive industry; GIS; Health impact assessment; Mixed methods; Time series}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{4}},
publisher = {{JMIR Publications Inc.}},
series = {{JMIR Research Protocols}},
title = {{Investigating health impacts of natural resource extraction projects in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania : Protocol for a mixed methods study}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/17138}},
doi = {{10.2196/17138}},
volume = {{9}},
year = {{2020}},
}