BACKGROUND: Diarrhoea is a preventable disease affecting children under five years disproportionately. Globally, thousands of children die from diarrhoea related diseases each year, most deaths occuring in sub-Saharan Africa where Ghana is located. Coastal communities bear the greatest brunt due to poor sanitary conditions. We assess the prevalence of diarrhoea in selected coastal communities along the eastern coast of Ghana.
METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study in Mumford, Opetekwei, Anyako, Anyauni and Ateteti communities in the Central, Greater Accra and Volta region respectively. We interviewed households with children under five years on the occurrence of diarrhoea and health seeking practices. We also used a checklist to assess the sanitary conditions of the household. Frequencies and proportions were generated. We determined significant differences using modified Poisson regression models at p < 0.05. Results were presented in tables and text.
RESULTS: The prevalence ratio of diarrhoea was 36% (95% CI 33-40%). Most cases were from Anyako community. All interviewed households in Mumford and Opetekwei used improved water sources whiles 94% in Atetetio used improved water sources. Children who were fully vaccinated had 32% lower prevalence of diarrhoea compared to those who were not (aPR: 0.68, 95% CI 0.55-0.84).
CONCLUSIONS: Diarrhoea prevalence was high inspite of the reported use of improved water sources and sanitation facilities by majority of households in the communities. Fully vaccinated children had a relatively lower prevalence of diarrhoea compared to children who were not fully vaccinated. We recommend in-depth analysis of the use of water and sanitation facilities in these settings to understand the reasons for the observed diarrhoea prevalence.

This is the first large-scale empirical study examining the impact of sea-level rise induced by climate change on mental health outcomes among coastal communities. The study focuses on Bangladesh, a country severely affected by salinity ingress, flood risks, and agricultural damage due to sea-level changes. Participants (n = 1,200) randomly selected from three coastal regions each having high, moderate, or low vulnerability to sea-level rise were surveyed during the pre-monsoon season in 2021. The cross-sectional survey included validated measures of psychological distress, depression, anxiety, stress, environmental stressors, resource loss, and demographics. The results indicated significantly higher levels of psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and stress in residents of high-vulnerability areas compared to moderate or low-vulnerability regions. Resource loss served as a mediating variable between environmental stressors and mental health outcomes. Furthermore, demographic analyses showed that older adults and women reported higher levels of psychological distress. These findings align with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, highlighting urgent need for targeted mental health interventions and sustainable models of care in coastal areas increasingly threatened by sea-level rise.

Islands, with their long coastlines and increased vulnerability to sea level rise, offer compelling opportunities to investigate the salinity tolerance of coastal plants. Seeds are generally more vulnerable than other plant stages to increased stressors. The aim of this study was to characterize salinity tolerance during germination across a diverse pool of 21 species from 14 plant families found in coastal communities throughout the Hawaiian Islands in order to increase our general understanding of coastal plant ecology for conservation and restoration.
Seeds of each species were exposed to unfiltered/untreated seawater (35 ppt total salinity) and two salinity treatments (10 and 20 ppt) in which the seawater was diluted with distilled water, and germination percent and timing were compared to seeds in a distilled water control. Non-germinated seeds were then tested for recovery germination. We quantified and compared germination percent, time and recovery among species and across salinity levels and tested for heterogeneity related to seed size, dormancy class, habit and threatened status.
Although salinity tolerance varied considerably among species, salinity exposure generally reduced and delayed germination. The greatest effects were detected at higher salinity levels. Recovery germination overall was higher for seeds that had been exposed to higher salinity. None of the factors we explored emerged as predictors of salinity tolerance except seed mass, which tended to enhance germination at higher salinity.
Species responses to salinity exposure indicate high vulnerability of coastal systems to increased salinity stress, and variability among species could lead to shifts in community assembly and composition under sea level rise. These results can help guide coastal ecosystem conservation and restoration management decisions in the face of climate change.

UNASSIGNED: Hypertension is a disease that still a problem in the world. Hypertension is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke mortality. Economic development and an emphasis on coastal tourism may have an impact on public health conditions, such as hypertension. This study aimed to determine risk factors related to hypertension among adults in coastal communities in Indonesia.
UNASSIGNED: This was a cross-sectional study of 123 respondents between the age of 18-59 years old selected by cluster sampling. This study was conducted among coastal communities in Banyuwangi District, East Java, Indonesia. Data was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression.
UNASSIGNED: Our study showed that the prevalence of systolic and diastolic hypertension among residents of coastal communities were as high as 33.33% and 31.71%, respectively. Increasing age was associated with systolic and diastolic hypertension (ORsystolic=1.11; 95% CI=1.03-1.19, p=0.01 and ORdiastolic=1.07; 95% CI=1.01-1.15, p=0.03) after controlling other variables. Respondents with the poorest and richer socio-economic status had higher odds of having systolic and diastolic hypertension compared to respondents with the richest socio-economic status (ORsystolic-poorest =12.78; 95% CI=1.61-101.54, p=0.02; ORsystolic-richer=10.74; 95% CI =1.55-74.37, p=0.02 and ORdiastolic-poorest=10.36; 95% CI= 1.40-76.74, p=0.02;ORdiastolic-richer=6.45; 95% CI=1.01-41.43, p=0.05) after controlling other variables.
UNASSIGNED: Being of older age and of the lower in socioeconomic status are significantly associated with increasing risk for systolic and diastolic hypertension in these coastal communities. More studies need to be done in these and other coastal village to help design appropriate health promotion and counseling strategies for coastal community.

Families living from artisanal fisheries are vulnerable to food insecurity.
This research aimed to assess the determinants and consequences of food insecurity in artisanal fishing families from the coastal community of Sonora, Mexico, and to understand how these families face food insecurity.
This was a cross-sectional study with 116 mothers. A socioeconomic, demographic, and nutritional knowledge survey was applied to assess determinants. A survey about food in the community and food security scale were collected to evaluate food insecurity and two 24-hour dietary recalls and anthropometric measures to assess consequences. Field notes about facing food insecurity were collected.
Sixty-eight percent of families have food insecurity. Being above the poverty line, higher father education, knowing how many glasses of water should be drunk per day, and how many minutes of physical activity should be done per day were associated with lower food insecurity. Not having medical service and lower mother education were associated with higher food insecurity. Higher food insecurity was associated with buying in a convenience store; higher food insecurity and higher mother education were associated with lower dietary score; and higher father education was associated with higher dietary score. Being below the extreme poverty line by income and number of children were associated with lower waist circumference; lower father education was associated with higher waist circumference of mothers.
Artisanal fishing families residing in the coastal community of Sonora, Mexico, experience high food insecurity associated with social and economic determinants and their dietary quality.

UNASSIGNED: The rural coastal population of Njarakkal are dependent on fishing for their daily livelihood making them highly economically unstable. Both Kudumbashree and MGNREGA have been implemented in this area for the upliftment of this population especially women. Therefore, the objective of this study was to qualitatively analyze the impact of Kudumbashree and MGNREGA on the lives of women belonging to the rural coastal community of Njarakkal.
UNASSIGNED: A qualitative study consisting of Focused group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted on women belonging to the fishing community who were active members of both the Kudumbashree and MGNREGA program.
UNASSIGNED: Participation in Kudumbashree and MGNREGA was found to have a positive impact on the lives of these coastal women. They experienced social, economic and political empowerment along with an improvement in their leadership skills and decision making capacity. Their participation in these groups not only led to empowerment in various domains of their lives but also had an impact on their health awareness, needs and utilization of healthcare services.
UNASSIGNED: Both Kudumbashree and MGNREGA were found to very useful platforms for the empowerment of women and thereby aiding in the eradication of poverty. Irrespective of a few lacunae\'s in these programs, it has resulted in the creation of a cohort of empowered women who can be effectively used as future ambassadors for spreading health awareness in the community.

The framework proposed by Ostrom (2009) has become one of the most utilized tools to address the complexity of social-ecological systems. Most cases use this framework to analyze the systems from the perspective of a single resource unit. However, the livelihoods in several coastal communities are diverse, so that the users interact with multiple common-pool resources, which makes their analysis difficult. In this sense, it is important to identify the key elements of management to achieve the sustainable use of the resources. In this study, we were able to do this in a coastal community where commercial fishing, ecotourism, and recreational fishing coexist. The system of interest, located in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, was subdivided by resource type using a multi-method approach to data collection including surveys, interviews, and records review. A conceptual map was developed that shows how the second-tier variables are integrated through the governance and actors with the biophysical system. The actors involved in lobster fishing achieved a more complex governance system, followed by the ecotourism and recreational fishing; the complexity of the governance was related with the equity level of the actors. The analysis revealed the research gaps to develop management strategies and improve the sustainability of the system.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the associated factors of cervical pre-malignant lesions among the married fisher women residing in the coastal areas of Sadras, Tamil Nadu.
METHODS: The study was conducted in five fishermen communities under Sadras, a coastal area in Tamil Nadu, India. Two hundred and fifty married fisher women residing in the area. Quantitative descriptive approach with a cross-sectional study design was used. Data were collected using a structured interview schedule for identifying the associated factors and Pap smear test was performed for identifying the pre-malignant cervical lesions among the married fisher women. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
RESULTS: Among 250 women, about six (2.4%) of them presented with pre-cancerous lesions such as atypical squamous cell of undifferentiated significance (ASCUS) - five (2%) and mild dysplasia one (0.4%). Majority of the women, about 178 (71.2%) women, had abnormal cervical findings. Statistical analysis showed a significant association of risk factors such as advanced age, lack of education, low socioeconomic status, using tobacco, multiparity, premarital sex, extramarital relationship, using cloth as sanitary napkin, etc.
CONCLUSIONS: The study findings clearly show the increased vulnerable state of the fisher women for acquiring cervical cancer as they had many risk factors contributing to the same.