scholarly journals Land Use Regression Modeling of Outdoor Noise Exposure in Informal Settlements in Western Cape, South Africa

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloé Sieber ◽  
Martina S. Ragettli ◽  
Mark Brink ◽  
Olaniyan Toyib ◽  
Roslyn Baatjies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Noise Exposure ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Sound Level ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Land Use Regression ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Noise Measurements

In developing countries, noise exposure and its negative health effects have been little explored. The present study aimed to assess the noise exposure situation in adults living in informal settings in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. We conducted continuous one-week outdoor noise measurements at 134 homes in four different areas. These data were used to develop a land use regression (LUR) model to predict A-weighted day-evening-night equivalent sound level (Lden) from geographic information system (GIS) variables. Mean noise exposure during day (6:00-18:00) was 60.0 A-weighted decibels (dB(A)) (interquartile range 56.9-62.9 dB(A)), during night (22:00-6:00) 52.9 dB(A) (49.3-55.8 dB(A)) and average Lden was 63.0 dB(A) (60.1-66.5 dB(A)). Main predictors of the LUR model were related to road traffic and household density. Model performance was low (adjusted R2=0.130) suggesting that other influences than represented in the geographic predictors are relevant for noise exposure. This is one of the few studies on the noise exposure situation in low- and middle-income countries. It demonstrates that noise exposure levels are high in these settings.

scholarly journals Land Use Regression Modeling of Outdoor Noise Exposure in Informal Settlements in Western Cape, South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 1262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloé Sieber ◽  
Martina S. Ragettli ◽  
Mark Brink ◽  
Olaniyan Toyib ◽  
Roslyn Baatjies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Noise Exposure ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Regression Modeling ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Land Use Regression

scholarly journals Case Study in a Working Environment Highlighting the Divergence between Sound Level and Workers’ Perception towards Noise

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 6122
Author(s):  
Chun-Yip Hon ◽  
Illia Tchernikov ◽  
Craig Fairclough ◽  
Alberto Behar
Keyword(s):  
Noise Exposure ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Sound Level ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Noise Levels ◽  
Hearing Conservation ◽  
Attitudes And Perceptions ◽  
Noise Measurements ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Excessive Noise

Excessive noise levels are a prevalent issue in food processing operations and, although there have been numerous studies on occupational noise, no single study has used a concurrent mixed-methods approach. Employing this study design allows for an understanding of the level of convergence (similarity) between measured noise levels and workers’ attitudes and perceptions towards noise. This, in turn, allows for the identification of potential challenges with respect to the implementation of hearing conservation efforts. In this study, spot noise measurements were collected using a sound level meter. One-on-one interviews were conducted with workers to determine attitudes and perceptions towards noise in their workplaces. Subsequently, the results of the noise measurements (quantitative data) were integrated with the survey responses (qualitative data) to identify convergence. The majority of the noise measurements were found to exceed 85 dBA—the criterion mandated by the local occupational health and safety legislation. Although all study participants felt that it was noisy in the workplace, a large proportion of respondents indicated that the noise was not bothersome. With workers’ perception being contradictory to the measured noise levels, it is a challenge to implement hearing conservation measures unless changes are made to raise the awareness of the risks associated with excessive noise exposure.

scholarly journals Affordability and Availability of Child Restraints in an Under-Served Population in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasanthi Puvanachandra ◽  
Aliasgher Janmohammed ◽  
Pumla Mtambeka ◽  
Megan Prinsloo ◽  
Sebastian Van As ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Injury Death ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Suitable Alternative ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Restraint Use ◽  
Child Restraint

Background: Child road traffic injuries are a major global public health problem and the issue is particularly burdensome in middle-income countries such as South Africa where injury death rates are 41 per 100,000 for under 5′s and 24.5 per 100,000 for 5–14-year-old. Despite their known effectiveness in reducing injuries amongst children, the rates of use of child restraint systems (CRS) remains low in South Africa. Little is known about barriers to child restraint use especially in low- and middle-income countries. Methods: We carried out observation studies and parent/carer surveys in 7 suburbs of Cape Town over a three month period to assess usage rates and explore the knowledge and perceptions of parents towards child restraint legislation, ownership and cost; Results: Only 7.8% of child passengers were observed to be properly restrained in a CRS with driver seatbelt use and single child occupancy being associated with higher child restraint use. 92% of survey respondents claimed to have knowledge of current child restraint legislation, however, only 32% of those parents/carers were able to correctly identify the age requirements and penalty. Reasons given for not owning a child seat included high cost and the belief that seatbelts were a suitable alternative. Conclusions: These findings indicate the need for a tighter legislation with an increased fine paired with enhanced enforcement of both adult seatbelt and child restraint use. The provision of low-cost/subsidised CRS or borrowing schemes and targeted social marketing through online fora, well baby clinics, early learning centres would be beneficial in increasing ownership and use of CRS.

scholarly journals Spiritual care practices in hospices in the Western cape, South Africa: the challenge of diversity

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronita Mahilall ◽  
Leslie Swartz
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Care Services ◽  
African Context ◽  
Care Practices

Abstract Background South Africa is a very diverse middle-income country, still deeply divided by the legacy of its colonial and apartheid past. As part of a larger study, this article explored the experiences and views of representatives of hospices in the Western Cape province of South Africa on the provision of appropriate spiritual care, given local issues and constraints. Methods Two sets of focus group discussions, with 23 hospice participants, were conducted with 11 of the 12 Hospice Palliative Care Association registered hospices in the Western Cape, South Africa, to understand what spiritual care practices existed in their hospices against the backdrop of multifaceted diversities. The discussions were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Two prominent themes emerged: the challenges of providing relevant spiritual care services in a religiously, culturally, linguistically and racially diverse setting, and the organisational context impacting such a spiritual care service. Participants agreed that spiritual care is an important service and that it plays a significant role within the inter-disciplinary team. Participants recognised the need for spiritual care training and skills development, alongside the financial costs of employing dedicated spiritual care workers. In spite of the diversities and resource constraints, the approach of individual hospices to providing spiritual care remained robust. Discussion Given the diversities that are largely unique to South Africa, shaped essentially by past injustices, the hospices have to navigate considerable hurdles such as cultural differences, religious diversity, and language barriers to provide spiritual care services, within significant resource constraints. Conclusions While each of the hospices have established spiritual care services to varying degrees, there was an expressed need for training in spiritual care to develop a baseline guide that was bespoke to the complexities of the South African context. Part of this training needs to focus on the complexity of providing culturally appropriate services.

scholarly journals Fatal drowning in the Western Cape, South Africa: a 7-year retrospective, epidemiological study

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 529-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen Jayne Saunders ◽  
Robyn Adriaanse ◽  
Abigail Simons ◽  
Ashley van Niekerk
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Young Adult ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Registration System ◽  
Drowning Prevention ◽  
Adult Men ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Public Holidays

IntroductionDrowning is a neglected public health threat in low-income and middle-income countries where the greatest drowning burden is observed. There is a paucity of drowning surveillance data from low-resource settings, particularly in Africa. Understanding local epidemiological factors will enable the development of context-specific drowning prevention initiatives and the appropriate allocation of resources.AimThe primary aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology of fatal drowning in the Western Cape, South Africa.MethodThis retrospective study describes fatal drowning incidents captured in the Western Cape vital registration system between 2010 and 2016. Data were obtained from the Forensic Pathology Services of the Western Cape Government. One-way analysis of variance was performed to detect a trend in mean drowning mortality rates between 2010 and 2016. χ2 tests for independence were performed to detect differences in the distribution of variables between groups.ResultsA total of 1391 fatal drownings occurred in the Western Cape between 2010 and 2016, with an age-adjusted drowning mortality rate of 3.2 per 100 000 population. Rates were fourfold higher in men compared with women. Children, particularly young children aged 0–4 years, and young adult men between 20 and 34 years of age were identified to be at high risk of fatal drowning. Drowning occurred predominantly in large, open bodies of water with concentrations in summer and public holidays.ConclusionsThe Western Cape drowning prevention strategy should prioritise interventions to reduce drowning in children and young adult men, with a targeted focus on festive periods such as public holidays.

scholarly journals Traffic noise feedback in agent-based Integrated Land-Use/Transport Models

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nico Kuehnel ◽  
Dominik Ziemke ◽  
Rolf Moeckel
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Noise Exposure ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Environmental Implications ◽  
Transport Models ◽  
Agent Based

Road traffic is a common source of negative environmental externalities such as noise and air pollution. While existing transport models are capable of accurately representing environmental stressors of road traffic, this is less true for integrated land-use/transport models. So-called land-use-transport-environment models aim to integrate environmental impacts. However, the environmental implications are often analyzed as an output of the model only, even though research suggests that the environment itself can have an impact on land use. The few existing models that actually introduce a feedback between land-use and environment fall back on aggregated zonal values. This paper presents a proof of concept for an integrated, microscopic and agent-based approach for a feedback loop between transport-related noise emissions and land-use. The results show that the microscopic link between the submodels is operational and fine-grained analysis by different types of agents is possible. It is shown that high-income households react differently to noise exposure when compared low-income households. The presented approach opens new possibilities for analyzing and understanding noise abatement policies as well as issues of environmental equity. The methodology can be transferred to include air pollutant emissions in the future.

scholarly journals Substitute Behaviors following Residential Substance Use Treatment in the Western Cape, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 12815
Author(s):  
Deborah Louise Sinclair ◽  
Steve Sussman ◽  
Maarten De Schryver ◽  
Cedric Samyn ◽  
Sabirah Adams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Substance Use Treatment ◽  
Targeted Prevention ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Satisfaction Scale ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Brief Assessment

The dynamics of substitute behaviors and associated factors remain poorly understood globally, and particularly in low- and middle-income contexts. This prospective study describes the prevalence and types of substitute behaviors as well as predictors, correlates, and motivations associated with substitution in persons (n = 137) admitted to residential substance use treatment in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The brief assessment of recovery capital, overall life satisfaction scale, and an adapted version of the addiction matrix self-report measure were completed during and post-treatment. Results indicate that substitutes were employed consciously for anticipated appetitive effects, for time-spending, (re)connecting with others, and enjoyment. At follow-up, 36% of service users had substituted their primary substance(s) with another substance or behavior; 23% had relapsed and 40% had maintained abstinence. While some service users may be especially vulnerable to developing substitute behaviors, targeted prevention and intervention efforts can reduce this risk.

Land use regression modelling estimating nitrogen oxides exposure in industrial south Durban, South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 610-611 ◽  
pp. 1439-1447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheena Muttoo ◽  
Lisa Ramsay ◽  
Bert Brunekreef ◽  
Rob Beelen ◽  
Kees Meliefste ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Nitrogen Oxides ◽  
Land Use Regression ◽  
Regression Modelling
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