Households Health Cost from Water Borne Diseases in District Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

作者：Muhammad Rahman, Sher Ali, Naveed Hayat · 发表于：iRASD Journal of Economics · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.52131/joe.2022.0404.0104 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Child Nutrition and Water Access、Healthcare Systems and Reforms、Urban and Rural Development Challenges

The provision of safe drinking water is a very serious issue in Pakistan, including Swat district. Recently, the effects of unsafe drinking water on the health cost of the local community of district Swat has got their importance. The main objective of the study is to estimate the households’ health costs of waterborne diseases. The secondary objective of the study is to determine the factors that affect the household health cost from water borne diseases. The study applied to the health cost function on primary data collated from 433 households through a survey questionnaire in district Swat. Results reveal that typhoid, diarrhea, vomiting, and gastroenteritis (vomiting & diarrhea) are the most common waterborne diseases in the District. In rural areas of the district, the prevalence of typhoid and gastroenteritis is higher, whereas in urban areas the prevalence of diarrhea and vomiting is higher. Besides, households who use drinking water from public tube wells mostly suffer from gastroenteritis and vomiting, whereas households who use water from digging wells or from natural springs mostly suffer from gastroenteritis and diarrhea. On average, households bear the highest direct and total health costs of PKR 11685 or USD 52 and PKR 12778 or USD 57 respectively, if their family member suffers from typhoid. Similarly, on average, households bear the highest indirect health cost of PKR 1388 or USD 6, if their family member suffers from diarrhea. Results from the regressions sho...