Aspects of Climatic and Socioeconomic Parameters and Malaria Prevalence; Evidence from Nigeria

Abstract

Aim: Against the background that most disease eradication drives dwell more on controlling the proximal causes of diseases and the development of innovative measures for diseases treatment, this study investigates the impact of climatic parameters and the population’s socioeconomic conditions on disease prevalence on the premise that these conditions promote the preponderance of the proximal causes. Study Design: The study employed a quantitative research design of the correlational type. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria, 2015 – 2016. Methods: The study assesses the temporal patterns and contributions of rainfall and temperature and four socioeconomic indices on malaria prevalence in Nigeria between 1985 and 2014 using Standard Deviation, Kurtosis, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression statistical techniques. Results: The results show a minimal but steady increase in malaria prevalence while changes in the climatic parameters and socioeconomic conditions in the period reviewed accounted for 78.6% of the variations in malaria prevalence (R2 = .786, P < .001). The regression equation was used to project the incidence of malaria in the study area from 310 cases per 1,000 Population in 2016 to 366 cases per 1,000 Population in 2050. Conclusion: The paper recommends that to achieve noticeable improvements in malaria eradication, greater attention should be paid to improving the socioeconomic conditions of the population as these have implications for their susceptibility to ill health and also affect their adaptation to climate change.