Infectious diseases in India: assessing the role of household amenities and socio-demographic determinants

Abstract

Infectious diseases continue to be a significant impediment in the attainment of sustainable development goals related to health. A lack of essential household amenities and social determinants are the primary cause behind the outbreak of infectious diseases in LMICs. The current study aimed to examine the socio-demographic determinants of infectious diseases vis-a-vis basic household amenities in India. This study was based on nationally representative data of ‘Key indicators of Social Consumption in India: Health’ conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation between July 2017 and June 2018. The study measured the inicidence of various infectious diseases across basic household amenities and socio-demographic variables. Multivariate logistic regression is employed to analyse the association between the likelihood of a particular infectious disease and various intersectional variables. The study findings reveal that the lack of household amenities such as access to a toilet, clean drinking water, garbage disposal and socio-economic determinants such as area of residence, gender, poverty and age have a significant impact on the incidence of infectious diseases in India. Among various infectious diseases jaundice, malaria and others, including tuberculosis and typhoid, dengue fever and chikungunya, have a relatively higher incidence. Approximately 22.32% of the population do not have proper toilet facility, 45.56% have proper tap water facility, while 50% either use water from spring/well or other unprotected sources and about half of the population do not have any arrangement for garbage disposal. Among socio-demographic determinants, incidence of infections is relatively higher in rural areas, other backward classes (OBCs), males, children, and adults. The study findings outlined that there is a need for better government interventions towards reducing the burden of infectious diseases in India, particularly in rural areas.