This project draws upon existing links between Brown University, the University of Rhode Island, and the University of Cape Coast in Cape Coast, Ghana, to examine the social and demographic processes that are closely linked to health and environmental health risks, and how these in turn influence local thinking about environmental issues. The project includes such studies as the relationship between population concentration and water pollution in coastal lagoons; the determinants of environmental attitudes; knowledge of disease etiology, and the relationship between urbanization and fertility. The setting for this research is coastal Ghana, chosen for the ecological sensitivity of its coastal zone.
This project is interdisciplinary, bringing together social scientists, biologists, and health specialists to examine these interrelationships among health, environment, and development. In combining these perspectives our objective is to contribute to a better understanding of the social and demographic processes that are most closely linked to health and environmental outcomes. The project incorporates a variety of methodological approaches, including a household survey about demographic and health characteristics; a life history calendar; GIS analysis; focus groups; and in-depth interviews. Our 2002 survey (see below) collected a range of demographic, attitudinal, and environmental data at the household level. A follow-up survey was fielded in 2004 and included analysis of household drinking water for coliform bacteria.