Student Lead: Irenius Konkor
Project title: Urban neighbourhood environments and chronic disease outcomes in Ghana
Epidemiological evidence shows low- and middle-income countries are rapidly transitioning from the predominance of nutritional, maternal, and neonatal health outcomes to a period increasingly dominated by chronic health outcomes. Chronic health has consequently become a topical issue and a subject of intense debate. There is an understanding that human behaviors cannot be isolated from the living environment and the spaces where they perform daily activities, yet arguments about the causes of and suggested solutions as well as ongoing policy programs to curb the burgeoning burden of chronic health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries have largely focused on behavioral risk factors including tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity. Irenius’ ongoing doctoral research seeks to understand the connections between chronic/non-communicable disease and urban environments of low- and middle-income countries using Ghana as a case study. The overall goal of this research is not to discredit behavioral risk factors but to argue for recognition of the environment and the integration of environmental policy programs in the fight against non-communicable disease in Ghana and other low and middle-income countries.
