Environmental health literacy (EHL) has recently been defined as the continuum of environmental health knowledge and awareness, skills and self-efficacy, and community action. In this study, an interdisciplinary team of university scientists, partnering with local organizations, developed and facilitated EHL trainings with special focus on rainwater harvesting and water contamination, in four communities with known environmental health stressors in Arizona, USA. These participatory trainings incorporated participants’ prior environmental health risk knowledge and personal experiences to co-create training content. Mixed methods evaluation was conducted via pre-post participant surveys in all four trainings (n = 53). Participants who did not demonstrate baseline environmental science knowledge pre-training demonstrated significant knowledge increase post-training, and participants who demonstrated low self-efficacy (SE) pre-training demonstrated a significant increase in SE post-training. Participants overall demonstrated a significant increase in specific environmental health skills described post-training. The interdisciplinary facilitator-scientist team also reported multiple benefits, including learning local knowledge that informed further research, and building trust relationships with community members for future collaboration. We propose contextual EHL education as a valuable strategy for increasing EHL in environmental health risk communities, and for building academia-community partnerships for environmental health research and action.

Climate change severely threatens global public health, with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) projected to experience profound impacts. This scoping review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of current research on climate change and its health implications in SSA while identifying research gaps and outlining the necessary resources and policy interventions to strengthen public health resilience in the region. Literature was retrieved from four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Web of Science) using the keywords “climate change,” “health,” and “sub-Saharan Africa” and this study was conducted using the PRISMA framework. The inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed studies published in English between January 1, 2001, and August 1, 2024, that examined the effects of climate change in SSA, assessed its impacts on health outcomes,A total of 7851 journal articles were identified from the initial search, and after screening, 153 studies were included for review. The included studies were published between January 2001 and August 2024. Although extensive studies have been conducted on extreme heat (71 studies), drought (45 studies), extreme precipitation events (52 studies), and flooding (34 studies), important themes such as air quality (10 studies), chemical water quality (8 studies) and natural disasters (8 studies) have been understudied. Additionally, this scoping review revealed a geographical gap in climate change and health studies, as only 24 out of 53 countries in sub-Saharan Africa were represented. The key deficiencies identified include limited funding, technological constraints, inadequate climate policies, and a lack of community-focused adaptation plans. Moreover, this review highlights the urgent need for resilient healthcare systems capable of addressing climate-related health risks effectively. Addressing these gaps is essential for developing targeted strategies to mitigate climate change’s health impacts and increase resilience in SSA communities. This review aims to inform policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders about critical areas requiring attention and investment by enhancing our understanding of these challenges and gaps. Strengthening research capacities, fostering collaboration, and implementing evidence-based policies are imperative steps toward achieving sustainable health outcomes in the face of a changing climate in SSA.

The objective of this study was to examine three well designs: drilled wells (20–30 m deep), closed dug wells (>5 m deep), and hand-dug open wells (<5 m deep), to determine the water quality for improving access to safe and clean water in rural communities. Heterotrophic plate count (HPC), total coliforms (TC), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and turbidity, were used to assess the water quality of 97 wells. Additionally, the study looked at the microflora diversity of the water, focusing on potential pathogens using outgrowth, PCR, and genome sequencing for 10 wells. Concentrations of TC for the open dug wells (4 × 10⁴ CFU/100 mL) were higher than the drilled (2 × 10³ CFU/100 mL) and closed dug wells (3 × 10³ CFU/100 mL). E. coli concentration for drilled and closed dug wells was 154 MPN/100 mL). The drilled well turbidity (11 NTU) was within the standard deviation of the closed well (28 NTU) compared to open dug wells (49 NTU). Drilled and closed wells had similar microbial diversity. There were no significant differences between drilled and closed dug wells. The covering and lining of hand-dug wells should be considered as an alternative to improve access to safe and clean water in rural communities.

We report on the management of infant feces in a rural village in Geita region, Tanzania. Findings discussed here emerged incidentally from a qualitative study aimed at investigating vulnerability and resilience to health challenges in rural settings. Data was gathered through semi-structured focus group discussions (FDGs) with women (n = 4; 32 participants), men (n = 2; 16 participants), and community leaders (n = 1; 8 participants). All FDGs were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed using Atlas.ti. Respondents reported feces of a child under the age of six months were considered pure compared to those of older children. Infant feces were seen as transitioning to harmful at the point when the child began to eat solid food, resulting in their stool visually changing in appearance. Caregivers reportedly used soft implements to handle infant feces due to the belief that tools with hard surfaces would physically harm the child. Infant feces were disposed in environments around the house due to the belief that disposal in latrines would prevent developmental milestones and result in other perceived negative health outcomes for the child. Changing views expressed by participants suggest a window of opportunity to implement evidence-based and culturally relevant interventions to encourage the safe disposal of infant feces.

Climate change severely threatens global public health, with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) projected to experience profound impacts. This scoping review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of current research on climate change and its health implications in SSA while identifying research gaps and outlining the necessary resources and policy interventions to strengthen public health resilience in the region. Literature was retrieved from four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Web of Science) using the keywords “climate change,” “health,” and “sub-Saharan Africa”. A total of 7851 journal articles were identified from the initial search, and after screening, 153 studies were included for review. The included studies were published between January 2001 and August 2024. Although extensive studies have been conducted on extreme heat (71 studies), drought (45 studies), extreme precipitation events (52 studies), and flooding (34 studies), important themes such as air quality (10 studies), chemical water quality (8 studies) and natural disasters (8) have been understudied. Additionally, this scoping review revealed a geographical gap in climate change and health studies, as only 24 out of 53 countries in sub-Saharan Africa were represented. The key deficiencies identified include limited funding, technological constraints, inadequate climate policies, and a lack of community-focused adaptation plans. Moreover, this review highlights the urgent need for resilient healthcare systems capable of addressing climate-related health risks effectively. Addressing these gaps is essential for developing targeted strategies to mitigate climate change’s health impacts and increase resilience in SSA communities. This review aims to inform policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders about critical areas requiring attention and investment by enhancing our understanding of these challenges and gaps. Strengthening research capacities, fostering collaboration, and implementing evidence-based policies are imperative steps toward achieving sustainable health outcomes in the face of a changing climate in sub-Saharan Africa.