title: Health and demographic surveillance in rural western Kenya: a platform for evaluating interventions to reduce morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases.
abstract: We established a health and demographic surveillance system in a rural area of western Kenya to measure the burden of infectious diseases and evaluate public health interventions. After a baseline census, all 33,990 households were visited every four months. We collected data on educational attainment, socioeconomic status, pediatric outpatient visits, causes of death in children, and malaria transmission. The life expectancy at birth was 38 years, the infant mortality rate was 125 per 1000 live births, and the under-five mortality rate was 227 per 1,000 live births. The increased mortality rate in younger men and women suggests high human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related mortality in the population. Of 5,879 sick child visits, the most frequent diagnosis was malaria (71.5%). Verbal autopsy results for 661 child deaths (1 month to <12 years) implicated malaria (28.9%) and anemia (19.8%) as the most common causes of death in children. These data will provide a basis for generating further research questions, developing targeted interventions, and evaluating their impact.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Kenya Program, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Kubaje
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Adazu
authors.forename: Kim A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Lindblade
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Odhiambo
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ofware
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kwach
authors.forename: Anna M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Van Eijk
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Decock
authors.forename: Pauli
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Amornkul
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Karanja
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Vulule
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Slutsker
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001344:Autopsy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires