Impact of insecurity, the AIDS epidemic, and poverty on population health: disease patterns and trends in Northern Uganda.
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Date
2001
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
Abstract
A retrospective analysis of the discharge records of 186,131 inpatients admitted to six Ugandan hospitals
during 1992–1998 was performed to describe the disease patterns and trends among the population of Northern
Uganda. In all hospitals, malaria was the leading cause of admission and the frequency of admissions for malaria
showed the greatest increase. Other conditions, such as malnutrition and injuries, mainly increased in the sites affected
by civil conflict and massive population displacement. Tuberculosis accounted for the highest burden on hospital
services (approximately one-fourth of the total bed-days), though it showed a stable trend over time. A stable trend
was also observed for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is in contrast to the hypothesis that AIDS
patients have displaced other patients in recent years. In conclusion, preventable and/or treatable communicable
diseases, mainly those related to poverty and poor hygiene, represent the leading causes of admission and death,
reflecting the socioeconomic disruption in Northern Uganda.
Description
Keywords
Disease patterns and trends, Population health, AIDS
Citation
Accorsi, S., Fabiani, M., Lukwiya, M., Ravera, M., Costanzi, A., Ojom, L., ... & Declich, S. (2001). Impact of insecurity, the AIDS epidemic, and poverty on population health: disease patterns and trends in Northern Uganda. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 64(3), 214-221.