Understanding perceptions of neighborhood health and non-communicable disease risk in urban contexts in Ghana

Global health surveillance reports show Africa's epidemiologic transition from one dominated by higher burdens of nutritional, maternal, and communicable diseases to one increasingly dominated by non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Debates on the increasing cases of NCDs in the African context have focused on individualistic risk factors to the neglect of other similar important determinants such as the living environment. Drawing on theoretical tenets of the protection motivation theory and using cross-sectional data, we examined neighborhood risk perceptions and self-rated risk of developing NCDs in Ghana. The dependent variable ‘self-rated risk of developing NCDs’ was measured as a binary outcome and the focal independent variable – perceived neighborhood health risk – as an index. We fitted multivariate multilevel regression models to a sample of 1376 individuals across 9 neighborhoods. Results show that respondents who perceived their neighborhoods as risky were more likely to rate their risk of developing NCDs high. A unit increase in neighborhood violence was associated with 8% likelihood of self-rated risk of developing NCDs. However, a unit increase in the aesthetic quality of respondent's neighborhood was associated with lower likelihood of self-rated risk of developing NCDs. Engaging in regular physical activity, and non-tobacco use were associated with a lower likelihood of perceived NCDs risk. We suggest policy agendas intended for reducing the burden of NCDs in Ghana and other LMICs could incorporate programs that target improving environmental characteristics to minimize risks and offer people the opportunity to make healthy choices.