Framework Program in Global Health: Grant Recipients

Ravi Gupta
The intersection of HIV/AIDS, water hygiene, and diarrheal opportunistic infections among women in Pune, India
Spring 2007

JHU advisor: Amita Gupta
Country: India
Program: School of Arts and Sciences, Bachelor's program

Project Abstract: Gastrointestinal opportunistic infections are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among patients living with HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, the World Health Organization estimates that nearly 700,000 die in India of diarrhea every year and that 20 percent of the burden of communicable disease in India is attributable to unsafe drinking water. Several international organizations have pointed to two underlying causes: 1) inadequate personal hygiene and 2) a lack of effective, household-based drinking water sanitation technology. Hygienic drinking water practices and household sanitation are crucial for reducing the risk of opportunistic infection and improving the quality of life and productivity of HIV-infected patients.

Although families in urban and rural poor areas often have access to improved water sources provided by local water municipalities, a serious risk is posed for re-contamination of the drinking water at the point-of-use because of unsafe transport and storage practices. Storage containers are commonly uncovered and families will often use old 55-gallon oil drums or used plastic and metal buckets. Such containers, especially those which are bought used, can contain a whole host of dangerous pathogens and chemicals and pose a serious health risk.

The principal aim of the proposed questionnaire is to measure the knowledge, practices, and perceptions regarding safe drinking water practices and general hygiene among antenatal HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women, who are accessing care at antenatal care centers and antiretroviral treatment centers operated by the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College (BJMC) and Sassoon Hospital in Pune, India. The results of this survey will serve as a baseline of data for the implementation of a cost-effective and socially acceptable water treatment intervention for HIV patients, such as a diarrhea monitoring instrument or disinfectant generator installed at local ART centers.

>> See all Spring 2007 Framework Award winners