Dr. Reena Lamichhane Khadka Primary Research Published in the Journal

Congratulations to Reena Lamichhane Khadka, MS, PhD, Professor of Biomedical Education and Director of Academic Achievement at CHSU-COM, for having a primary research article published in the Journal of Water & Health.

The article is titled, “Assessing biosocial vectors in water contamination, the incidence of water-borne illnesses, and insecurity in Kathmandu, Nepal,” and was funded by the Freeman Foundation Grant for International Research.

According to the abstract, the study used water quality tests, epidemiological data, and ethnographic interviews gathered in Kathmandu in 2017 to provide an interdisciplinary analysis of water insecurity, illness, and targeted responses. Our findings fit the pattern of the past 20 years: the concentration of coliform bacteria across water sources remains unsafe. Our epidemiological data documents high rates of water-borne infectious diseases consistent with fecal contamination of water sources. Our ethnographic interviews suggest that social marginalization, poverty, and dislocation are major drivers in the incidence of illness.