Variation of health status among people living on boats in Hue, Vietnam.
OBJECTIVE
To examine patterns of disease and injury in people living on boats in Hue City, Vietnam, and their relations to socioeconomic conditions, sanitary practices, disease prevention proficiency, and people's preference to continued living on boats.


METHODS
The subjects were 3737 people aged 5 years and over living on boats in Hue City, Vietnam. Diseases and injuries were diagnosed according to ICD-10. The associations between disease/injury and socioeconomic conditions, sanitary practices, disease prevention proficiency, and preference to continued living on boats were analysed by logistic regression.


RESULTS
The prevalence rates of certain infectious and parasitic diseases, diseases of the respiratory system, diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, diseases of the digestive system, and injuries were 85.3%, 78.0%, 51.2%, 15.4%, and 13.2%, respectively. Various associations were seen between diseases/injuries and socioeconomic conditions. Patterns of disease were strongly influenced by sanitary practices. Better disease prevention proficiency was significantly related to lower prevalence of the first three categories of diseases/injuries regardless of sex, age, or socioeconomic status (p < 0.05, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). Diseases were more prevalent among people who preferred not to continue living on boats.


CONCLUSIONS
This large scale comprehensive field study illustrated major diseases and injuries among people living on boats. Variations in health status showed a web-like relation of socioeconomic conditions, sanitary practices, disease prevention proficiency, and preference to continued living on boats. Measures to develop disease prevention proficiency reduce the risk of disease and injury.
Quang
Nguyen Khac Luong
NK
Health Promotion, Department of International Health, Graduate School of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Yushima 1-5-45, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan.
Takano
Takehito
T
Nakamura
Keiko
K
Watanabe
Masafumi
M
Inose
Tomoko
T
Fukuda
Yoshiharu
Y
Seino
Kaoruko
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012499:Sanitation; D012767:Ships; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014744:Vietnam / Q000453:epidemiology