Socio-economic Factors and Residents' Health in Nigeria Urban Centres

Abstract

This paper examined the various socio-economic attributes (average income, educational attainment, occupation and household size) among the low, medium and high income earners in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. It also assessed the effects of these socio-economic attributes on the health of residents with a view to determining the implications that socio- economic attributes have on the environmental related ill health on households (diarrhoea, vomiting, stomache ache, typoid and malaria) in the study area. Having divided
Osogbo township map into equal grids, using Geographic Information System (GIS) and systematically sampled 432 household heads, the data collected is subjected to simple statistical analysis. The study revealed that incidence of ill heath especially malaria is prevalent among the working age group (20-50) years. In addition, respondents with secondary education and below have higher incidence of ill health than those that attained below university and university education. Respondents that engaged in business, petty trading and artisan jobs have higher incidence of ill health than civil servants and
farmers. Also respondents that earned below #400000/annum have higher incidence of ill heath than those that earned above #400000/annum.The study then suggested the introduction of standard yardstick policy, which could be used to measure socio-economic
status of residents in relation to their health status determinants in this country.

African Research Review Vol. 2 (3) 2008: pp. 236-248