Rural People Research Articles

Women and rural people’s participation in tertiary education through Internet resources in India

India has a large formal higher education system, however the enrolment of women and rural people in universities is not substantial. Women enrolment in tertiary education was reported only 41.5% of the total enrolment in the academic year 2010-2011 and only 7% population in rural areas have a higher education. Many socio-cultural barriers prevent people from accessing higher education in India. The integration of the Internet into the higher education sector has the potential to improve access to tertiary education in India regardless gender and area. Using personal narrative and interview data, this article explores how Internet resources can be used to enhance women and rural people’s participation in tertiary education in India.

ASSESSMENT OF THE OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF FARMERS' COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN SOUTH EAST NIGERIA

To uncover the constraints and entry points for improving the operational performance of farmers' cooperative societies in southeast Nigeria forms the motivation for this study. Farmers' cooperatives have enormous potential to support economic growth at the rural and regional levels, building on the spirit of teamwork that is already common among the rural people. A decent number of qualities differentiate cooperative associations from other different entities. These comprise open and voluntary enrollment. Cooperative social orders are available to all citizenry with common interests. This study analyzed responses from two hundred and forty respondents selected through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Frequency, mean, Likert scale and ordered logit regression model were used for the analysis. The perception of members of farmers' cooperative societies on their operational performance showed that the cooperatives in the area performed well in terms of members' access to training, participation during decision-making, voting during elections, and leaders' emergence through the democratic process. The ordered logit regression result of the socioeconomic factors to the operational performance of the farmers' cooperatives showed that membership strength, Age of the cooperatives, access to free input, access to training, and access to infrastructural facilities were statistically significant and positively related to farmers' cooperatives level of operational performance. Thus, the study recommends that Cooperative societies supply their members' goods and services for improved income and savings investment, improved productivity, and bargaining power through maximum utilization of economies of scale and cost and risk sharing.

Livelihood Trajectories of Rural Young People in Southern Africa: Stuck in Loops?

ABSTRACTAttempts to boost rural development in the Global South tend to focus on ways in which people can transform their lives. Interventions are often designed to help overcome specific envisioned constraints and push individuals onto a pathway out of poverty. Research has contributed to nuancing this vision by documenting the non‐linearity of pathways, which often results in people being left in limbo or stuck, rather than moving forward. Based on a study in two villages in Malawi and Lesotho, this article argues that even these nuances do not fully capture the real‐life experiences of the 63 young people who participated. Interviews tracing the course of their lives between 2007–08 and 2016–17 reveal trajectories that are circular rather than linear, and show the detrimental effects of being stuck in these frustrating loops of taking action without progressing. Conceptualizing rural young people's livelihood trajectories in contexts of severe poverty as loops highlights the structural issues that need to be addressed if their lives are to be transformed. Understanding development as emancipation from sources of unfreedom means focusing on the structural constraints that keep some people in poverty, and the importance of attaining agency if they are to put their needs on the agenda and demand basic rights.

The findings of the Disability Royal Commission: the relevance for people with intellectual disabilities in rural areas

People living in rural areas of Australia are significantly disadvantaged, compared to metropolitan dwelling peers, in accessing basic support services. Australians with intellectual disabilities living in rural areas are at specific risk of further disadvantage. This article examines the findings and recommendations of the Disability Royal Commission through the lens of rurality. A frequency analysis of key words relating to rurality indicated an interesting trend in relation to the term “remote” which had a higher count rate than either “regional” or “rural”. This finding may indicate that issues from non-remote rural locations were less well represented. The Final Report included many examples from people with intellectual disabilities or their carers regarding the lack of vital services in rural areas, and specifically highlighted the need to introduce a “provider of last resort”. Problems with support were also identified following domestic violence and rape, and concerns noted regarding the provision of public transport in rural areas. The Final Report contains 222 recommendations, of which 11 contained a specific focus addressing a rural issue, and these are briefly discussed. It is unfortunate that, in some key support areas, there appear to be an implicit expectation that the remaining 200+ recommendations will all apply evenly across Australia, irrespective of location. Nonetheless, the Disability Royal Commission should be commended for their inclusive approach to involving people with disabilities living in rural areas which led to the reporting from rural people with intellectual disabilities and their carers regarding the issues that they have faced.

An Evaluation of People’s Acceptability of Rural Household Energy: A Study of Kaski District, Nepal

Rural energy infrastructure development is essential for promoting holistic and sustainable advancement in emerging nations. This effort seeks to address poverty, improve quality of life, protect the environment, and strengthen resilience against external disruptions. The involvement of governments, development organizations, the private sector, and local communities is essential to ensuring the widespread availability of modern energy services for rural people. The effective implementation of rural energy initiatives hinges on the pivotal issue of popular acceptance. We utilized Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques to determine the public's view of the suitability of various resources (Firewood, LPG, Kerosene, Electricity, and Biogas) for household cooking in local communities. This assessment was based on eight distinct criteria. The criteria have been derived from prior research and a preliminary survey conducted in the rural Kaski area of Nepal. Moreover, the fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) will be employed to determine individuals' preferences for various energy sources. Based on the input from customers and impartial experts, the study determined that the most sustainable sources of energy in the rural Kaski area of Nepal are electricity and biogas, notwithstanding their limited usage. According to the study, firewood is the optimal choice for cooking in rural areas attributable to its exceptional effectiveness concerning food preparation, availability, and friendliness. Although the LPG is widely acknowledged as a most dependable energy source, it is not favored by users due to concerns of safety, friendly, and cost. Rural users regard electric cooking as unreliable, with safety concerns and food quality testing, but people generally embrace it as a healthy and ecologically friendly option. The utilization of biogas is influenced by factors such as cost, reliability, and sensory perception of food.

Mobility and the Social Differentiation of Rural Youth in Australia

AbstractGeographical mobility has become an integral element of the biographical trajectories of young people from rural areas. In this paper, we contend that theories of rural-urban inequality tend to unduly homogenise rural social groups and are insufficient to understand rural youth out-migration as a selective rather than universal practice. We draw on a statistical analysis of the social differentiation of rural youth mobility in Australia to argue that sociologists gain from further theorising the social differentiation of rural society. Empirically, we find that classed resources and stratified dispositions toward one’s future life are important properties associated with outward mobility. Theoretically, we propose the concept of rural social space to make sense of these patterns. Rural social space describes the material and symbolic hierarchies that structure the social differentiation of rural society. We conclude by suggesting how future research could refine the conceptualisation of rural social space proposed in this paper, by further considering the opportunities, practices and representations that distinguish the lives of different groups of rural young people.

Drivers of access to cardiovascular health care for rural Indigenous Peoples: a scoping review.

Māori (the Indigenous Peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) are disproportionately represented in cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevalence, morbidity and mortality rates, and are less likely to receive evidence-based CVD health care. Rural Māori experience additional barriers to treatment access, poorer health outcomes and a greater burden of CVD risk factors compared to Non-Māori and Māori living in urban areas. Importantly, these inequities are similarly experienced by Indigenous Peoples in other nations impacted by colonisation. Given the scarcity of available literature, a systematic scoping review was conducted on literature exploring barriers and facilitators in accessing CVD health care for rural Māori and other Indigenous Peoples in nations impacted by colonisation. The review was underpinned by Kaupapa Māori Research methodology and was conducted utilising Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) methodological framework. A database search of MEDLINE (OVID), PubMed, Embase, SCOPUS, CINAHL Plus, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre and NZResearch.org was used to explore empirical research literature. A grey literature search was also conducted. Literature based in any healthcare setting providing care to adults for CVD was included. Rural or remote Indigenous Peoples from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the US were included. Literature was included if it addressed cardiovascular conditions and reported barriers and facilitators to healthcare access in any care setting. A total of 363 articles were identified from the database search. An additional 19 reports were identified in the grey literature search. Following screening, 16 articles were included from the database search and 5 articles from the grey literature search. The literature was summarised using the Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi) Framework principles: tino rangatiratanga (self-determination), partnership, active protection, equity and options. Themes elucidated from the literature were described as key drivers of CVD healthcare access for rural Indigenous Peoples. Key driver themes included input from rural Indigenous Peoples on healthcare service design and delivery, adequate resourcing and support of indigenous and rural healthcare services, addressing systemic racism and historical trauma, providing culturally appropriate health care, rural Indigenous Peoples' access to family and wellbeing support, rural Indigenous Peoples' differential access to the wider social determinants of health, effective interservice linkages and communication, and equity-driven and congruent data systems. The findings are consistent with other literature exploring access to health care for rural Indigenous Peoples. This review offers a novel approach to summarising literature by situating the themes within the context of equity and rights for Indigenous Peoples. This review also highlighted the need for further research in this area to be conducted in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand.

‘You get sick when you go to the hospital!’ Sickening landscapes, digital exclusiveness, and iatrogenesis in rural North China

AbstractA local narrative current in North China's Shandong Province paints the hospital as a place where people become ill. This article foregrounds older rural people's embodied experience of navigating the medical system. This involves humiliation and feelings of incompetence in their interactions not only with other people whom they see as more sophisticated than them but also with unfamiliar things such as elevators and digital payment platforms. ‘Sickening landscapes’, a concept built upon this narrative, expands the notion of therapeutic landscapes to bring into sharp relief the negative effects of places and things and the embedded health inequities. It offers a native account of iatrogenesis, as something arising from mundane interactions with physical spaces, technologies, and people, which expands the current focus of clinical iatrogenesis on medical error, malpractices, and nosocomial infections. Incorporating the notion of ‘sickening landscapes’ into the theory of care helps us better attend to the trivial, easily neglected things and places that directly bear on the health and well‐being of marginalized social groups.

Tsow hope, reap progress: young people strengthening the rural

This study aims to analyze the perspectives and opportunities for rural young people to remain in their communities. The approach consists of carrying out a systematic review of Brazilian scientific literature to offer an overview of recent national research on rural youth. A search was carried out on the Capes Periodicals Portal, from 2019 to 2023, resulting in 23 articles, which were categorized into three main groups. The study categorized 23 articles into three main groups. The first, with ten studies, explored perspectives and permanence of rural young people, addressing motivations for staying or leaving, participation in social movements and female exodus. The second category, with seven studies, focused on formal education, including agricultural technological teaching and Alternation Pedagogy. The third category, with six studies, addressed opportunities such as courses, training, employment, income and rural microcredit. A double movement stands out in the rural world, with young people remaining or migrating to urban centers, highlighting the need for public policies that meet the demands of rural youth.

Awareness of HPV Vaccine and its Socio-demographic Determinants among the Parents of Eligible Daughters in Bangladesh: A Nationwide Study

BackgroundVaccination against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is recommended to avoid HPV infections and its associated diseases, including cervical cancer. However, there is no awareness study among Bangladeshi population. Hence, this nationwide study was conducted to explore HPV vaccine awareness and its determinants among parents of eligible adolescent girls. MethodsThis study was conducted among the parents of daughters aged 9-15 years from 42 out of 64 randomly selected districts of Bangladesh between June 28 to August 2, 2023. A multistage sampling method was used to enroll 2,151 study participants from all eight divisions of Bangladesh. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for face-to-face interviews in this study. The statistical software Stata (Version 17) was used for statistical analyses. ResultsThe average age of the participants was 38.18 (±5.86) years. Only 22.32% of the participants were aware of the HPV vaccine. Every additional year of age increased the likelihood of being aware of the HPV vaccine by 3% (AOR: 1.03; 95%CI: 1.00-1.06). Participants residing in the urban area had 3.56 times higher odds of awareness than rural and semi-urban people. Businessmen and housewives had 60% (AOR: 0.40; 95% CI: 0.22-0.69) and 77% (AOR: 0.23; 95% CI: 0.16-0.33) lower odds in comparison to job holders. The lower-income group exhibited significantly higher odds of awareness (AOR: 0.25, 95%CI: 0.16-0.39) compared to the middle and the higher-income group. Participants who never went through routine health check-ups had 77% lower odds of being aware than those who availed of regular routine check-ups (AOR: 0.23; 95%CI: 0.16 – 0.34). ConclusionAwareness of the HPV vaccine among the general population of Bangladesh is very low. Age, residence, occupation, monthly income, and routine medical check-ups were associated with HPV vaccine awareness. A nationwide awareness campaign would increase this awareness level among the Bangladeshi population, especially among the parents of daughters.

Construction Path of Rural Study Base Based on Service Design Concept

The establishment of rural study bases offers a promising opportunity to improve educational opportunities and community development in remote areas. This research investigates the development path of rural study bases using service design concepts that emphasize user-centric methods, stakeholder interaction, and iterative improvement procedures. Understanding rural communities' particular needs and goals allows remote study bases to plan and implement meaningful and impactful educational programs and services. Rural study bases strive to build favourable learning settings that encourage active engagement and cooperation by combining physical infrastructure development, digital resource integration, and community outreach efforts. This paper, using examples from diverse industries and situations, discusses essential issues and best practices for efficiently adopting service design principles in the establishment of rural study bases. Finally, rural studies based on service design concepts show promise for improving socioeconomic outcomes and empowering rural people through education. As an outcome, it provides high user satisfaction (94%), effective community outreach, excellent digital resource integration, enhanced academic performance, and strong stakeholder engagement

Community‐based rainwater harvesting management: A lesson from best rural practices

AbstractWater is human life's most important natural gift to achieve health and wealth. The study attempts to trace the rural community‐based best practices to achieve water harvesting through an explanatory research and survey method. The study realized that there are various practices for water conservation in rural communities, especially in hilly regions, which enjoy numerous benefits. India has community‐based practices, including Artificial Lakes, Pani‐kheti, Kuhls, and a bamboo‐based drip irrigation system. In this study, data were collected through a questionnaire, and the benefits of community‐based water management in Dang, a district of Gujrat, India, were assessed. The case studies have revealed how water problems have been solved through community participation. It can be seen from Dang's case studies, which are also in line with the reviews of related literature, that his efforts have only had some success. The rural people, predominantly tribal, are facing a resource crunch and water crisis, and through community partnership, they can achieve desirable outcomes with the government's support. The study found that rural people have achieved cost efficiency and revenue benefits from cooperative strategies.

Modes of Presentation, Diagnostic Difficulties and Pattern of Management of Carcinoma of Stomach: Study of 100 Cases Admitted in SBMCH, Barisal

Background: Aging is inevitable process of life. In Bangladesh, the number of older people is growing rapidly due to falling fertility and increased expectancy of life. Objective: We aimed to determine the prevalence of self-reported morbidity, to describe the morbidity pattern, health-seeking behavior, and socio-demographic profile, among the rural elderly people of the Chattogram district of Bangladesh. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at 16 villages under 8 unions of the Mirsarai upazilla of the Chattogram district conveniently. Households were selected by systematic random sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews from 200 participants. We used a semi-structured questionnaire. It was divided into two parts: questions related to socio demographic characteristics, questions related to morbidity pattern and health seeking behavior. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were done. Data was cleaned and prepared with Microsoft Excel and analysis was performed using SPSS, version 23. Results: Mean age of the respondents was 66.5 years. Only (10.5%) had no morbidity and more than two-thirds (70%) of the respondents had multimorbidity. Most common morbidities identified among them were osteoarthritis (66.5%) and hypertension (51%) followed by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (29.5%), ischemic heart disease (25%), Diabetes mellitus (21%), etc. Among them, (80%) seek treatment for their health problems. The majority (27%) preferred going to the government hospital and one-fourth (25%) preferred a private doctor. Among older people not seeking treatment for their medical condition, a majority (47.5%) said they didn’t feel the need to go to a doctor and (35%) said that they had financial problems. Conclusion: A high prevalence of morbidity among the elderly population is found, suggesting that geriatric care should become an integral part of primary health care. Regular screening and health education need to be ........

The Obstacles of Women Entrepreneurship on Empowerment in Rural Communities KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

This research aims to determine barriers to the expansion of women-owned businesses in rural communities of South Africa. To collect data for the research, a quantitative research approach was adopted. The research focused on 250 female business owners in the northern KZN rural regions of Umzinyakude, Uthukela, and Ugu. According to the survey, the primary barriers to developing women-owned businesses in rural communities are financial restraints, an absence of formal education, and inadequate facilities. These hurdles, however, may be overcome by women businesses being entrepreneurs in rural South African communities. Eliminating these barriers might empower women entrepreneurs and drive growth in the economy in rural communities, lowering poverty and improving rural people's living conditions. In light of these findings, the research suggests a variety of measures, including different financing methods, focused training and schooling programs, and the development of infrastructure to help women-owned businesses flourish in rural communities. Further research should investigate more issues like cultural as well as social barriers, an absence of accessibility to marketplaces and information, and legal and regulatory obstacles that prevent women from starting business entities in rural communities.

Terracing as an Old-Style Scheme of Soil Water Preservation in Djingliya-Mandara Mountains- Cameroon

The relief and high population densities of ≥150 inhabitants/Km2in the Mandara Mountains and the drastic displacement of internally displaced persons towards these Mountains have brought about severe effects on water and soil resources. This environmental and socio-political crisis, have made agricultural production not to meet demand for food and hundreds of these rural people go hungry each day. This has constrained the inhabitants to develop various tactics of soil water preservation and landscape restoration towards fighting deficiencies in crop production to ensure food security. This study analyzes terracing as a traditional system of soil water conservation adopted by the farmers in Djingliya villages found on the Mandara Mountains. Through secondary source of information, field observation, interviews and questionnaires administered on 100 persons in five villages of the study area, results show that: soil degradation via soil resources overuse and erosion is checked by terraces. Also, the tendency of adopting local techniques is harnessed through the cultivation of plants which increase infiltration, agroforestry, crop rotation practices, Forest Landscape Conservation, Mosaic Landscape Restoration and Valorizing Local Plant Species to ensure sustainable farming activities that restore degraded land in general and terraces in particular.

Urinary Metabolites of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons of Rural Population in Northwestern China: Oxidative Stress and Health Risk Assessment.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure is suspected to be linked to oxidative damage. Herein, ten PAH human exposure biomarkers [hydroxylated PAH metabolites (OH-PAHs)] and five oxidative stress biomarkers (OSBs) were detected in urine samples collected from participants living in a rural area (n = 181) in Northwestern China. The median molar concentration of ΣOH-PAHs in urine was 47.0 pmol mL-1. The 2-hydroxynaphthalene (2-OHNap; median: 2.21 ng mL-1) was the dominant OH-PAH. The risk assessment of PAH exposure found that hazard index (HI) values were <1, indicating that the PAH exposure of rural people in Jingyuan would not generate significant cumulative risks. Smokers (median: 0.033) obtained higher HI values than nonsmokers (median: 0.015, p < 0.01), suggesting that smokers face a higher health risk from PAH exposure than nonsmokers. Pearson correlation and multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that ΣOH-PAH concentrations were significant factors in increasing the oxidative damage to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) (8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine, 8-OHdG), ribonucleic acid (RNA) (8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine, 8-oxoGua), and protein (o, o'-dityrosine, diY) (p < 0.05). Among all PAH metabolites, only 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHPyr) could positively affect the expression of all five OSBs (p < 0.05), suggesting that urinary 1-OHPyr might be a reliable biomarker for PAH exposure and a useful indicator for assessing the impacts of PAH exposure on oxidative stress. This study is focused on the relation between PAH exposure and oxidative damage and lays a foundation for the study of the health effect mechanism of PAHs.

Morbidity Pattern and Health Seeking Behaviour among the Geriatric People of Rural Areas of Chattogram District in Bangladesh

Background: Aging is inevitable process of life. In Bangladesh, the number of older people is growing rapidly due to falling fertility and increased expectancy of life. Objective: We aimed to determine the prevalence of self-reported morbidity, to describe the morbidity pattern, health-seeking behavior, and socio-demographic profile, among the rural elderly people of the Chattogram district of Bangladesh. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at 16 villages under 8 unions of the Mirsarai upazilla of the Chattogram district conveniently. Households were selected by systematic random sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews from 200 participants. We used a semi-structured questionnaire. It was divided into two parts: questions related to socio demographic characteristics, questions related to morbidity pattern and health seeking behavior. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were done. Data was cleaned and prepared with Microsoft Excel and analysis was performed using SPSS, version 23. Results: Mean age of the respondents was 66.5 years. Only (10.5%) had no morbidity and more than two-thirds (70%) of the respondents had multimorbidity. Most common morbidities identified among them were osteoarthritis (66.5%) and hypertension (51%) followed by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (29.5%), ischemic heart disease (25%), Diabetes mellitus (21%), etc. Among them, (80%) seek treatment for their health problems. The majority (27%) preferred going to the government hospital and one-fourth (25%) preferred a private doctor. Among older people not seeking treatment for their medical condition, a majority (47.5%) said they didn’t feel the need to go to a doctor and (35%) said that they had financial problems. Conclusion: A high prevalence of morbidity among the elderly population is found, suggesting that geriatric care should become an integral part of primary health care. Regular screening and health education need to be.........

Healthy rural hearts: The feasibility of a telehealth nutrition randomised controlled trial for rural people at risk of cardiovascular disease.

Improving dietary patterns using medical nutrition therapy delivered via telehealth could make an effective contribution to reducing cardiovascular disease burden in rural Australia. However, it is important that medical nutrition therapy programmes are developed in collaboration with rural stakeholders, to increase feasibility for the rural context and the likelihood of successful implementation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the preliminary feasibility outcomes of integration (implementation), practicality, acceptability, demand, and preliminary effectiveness at the 3-month timepoint of the Healthy Rural Hearts randomised control trial. Feasibility measures were collected from participants in the Healthy Rural Hearts medical nutrition therapy trial. Study participants were patients from eligible primary care practices who had been assessed by their general practitioner as being at moderate to high risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the next five years. The sample in this analysis includes those who had completed the first 3-months of the study. Feasibility outcomes were measured over the first 3-months of the trial intervention. A process evaluation survey was used to collect measures relating to intervention implementation, practicality, acceptability, and demand. Completion rates of the Australian Eating Survey Heart version, Personalised Nutrition Questionnaire, pathology tests and telehealth medical nutrition therapy consultations delivered by Accredited Practising Dietitians were also used to measure intervention practicality. Preliminary effectiveness was evaluated by comparing the intervention group's dietary change, measured using Australian Eating Survey Heart with data from the control group. A total of 105 participants (75 intervention, 30 control participants) were eligible for inclusion in analysis. Attendance rates at the first 3-months of dietitian consultations ranged from 94.7% to 89.3% between the first and 3-month consultations, and most participants were able to complete the Australian Eating Survey Heart and Personalised Nutrition Questionnaire prior to their initial consultation [Australian Eating Survey Heart (n = 57, 76%) and Personalised Nutrition Questionnaire (n = 61, 81.3%)] and the Australian Eating Survey Heart prior to their 3-month consultation (n = 52, 69.3%). Of the participants who completed a pathology test at the 3-month time-point (n = 54, 72%), less than half were able to do so prior to their dietitian consultation (n = 35, 46.7%). Of the 75 intervention participants, 28 (37.3%) completed the process evaluation survey. Intervention participants ranked acceptability of the Healthy Rural Hearts intervention highly (mean rank out of 10 = 9.5, SD 1.9), but provided mixed responses on whether they would access the intervention outside of the study (mean rank out of 10 = 6.0, SD 3.5). There were statistically significant increases in percentage total energy intake derived from nutrient-dense core foods compared to the control group (p ≤ 0.05). The positive findings related to acceptability and implementation outcomes suggest that the Healthy Rural Hearts intervention was acceptable, practical, and able to be implemented within this population living in rural NSW. This, combined with the small to medium effect size in the proportion of total energy derived from nutrient-dense core foods compared to the control group indicates that long-term intervention effectiveness on other cardiovascular disease outcomes is important to evaluate in the future.

Diet changes due to urbanization in South Africa are linked to microbiome and metabolome signatures of Westernization and colorectal cancer

Transition from traditional high-fiber to Western diets in urbanizing communities of Sub-Saharan Africa is associated with increased risk of non-communicable diseases (NCD), exemplified by colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. To investigate how urbanization gives rise to microbial patterns that may be amenable by dietary intervention, we analyzed diet intake, fecal 16 S bacteriome, virome, and metabolome in a cross-sectional study in healthy rural and urban Xhosa people (South Africa). Urban Xhosa individuals had higher intakes of energy (urban: 3,578 ± 455; rural: 2,185 ± 179 kcal/d), fat and animal protein. This was associated with lower fecal bacteriome diversity and a shift from genera favoring degradation of complex carbohydrates (e.g., Prevotella) to taxa previously shown to be associated with bile acid metabolism and CRC. Urban Xhosa individuals had higher fecal levels of deoxycholic acid, shown to be associated with higher CRC risk, but similar short-chain fatty acid concentrations compared with rural individuals. Fecal virome composition was associated with distinct gut bacterial communities across urbanization, characterized by different dominant host bacteria (urban: Bacteriodota; rural: unassigned taxa) and variable correlation with fecal metabolites and dietary nutrients. Food and skin microbiota samples showed compositional differences along the urbanization gradient. Rural-urban dietary transition in South Africa is linked to major changes in the gut microbiome and metabolome. Further studies are needed to prove cause and identify whether restoration of specific components of the traditional diet will arrest the accelerating rise in NCDs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Social and Economic Impact for Rural People from the Tomato Drying Project in The Esna Center, Luxor Governorate

The Social and Economic Impact for Rural People from the Tomato Drying Project in The Esna Center, Luxor Governorate