Transition from nomadic to sedentary lifestyle as an important social determinant of child health

Background. Nomadic communities are underserved populations which still lag behind in virtually every measure of health. We were able to monitor changes in the health status of Bedouin Arab children in the desert Negev region of southern Israel over a 25 year period of transition from a semi-nomadic life style to sedentarism.

Methods. Systematic review of articles published on the health of Bedouin children in the Negev as well as data routinely collected by the.  Information was summarized from two main sources of data: a systematic search of the literature for scientific studies which were published in peer reviewed journals or presented at professional conferences (key words: IMR, LBW, stunting, growth of infants, infectious diseases, breastfeeding, vaccine-preventable diseases, Bedouin, Negev, Israel) and data culled from analyses of routinely collected national (Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics) and regional databases (Regional Medical Office of the Ministry of Health).

Results. Among the Bedouin Arab population of the Negev infant mortality rates have decreased from 30.9 per 1000 live births in 1979 to 11.5 per 1000 in 2007. The data show marked decrease in the proportion of Bedouin children who born with low birth weight from 15% in 1980-1981 to 8.9% in 2006. In 1986 the proportion of 1y old children with short stature was 38.2% and 19% in 1999. The percent of Bedouin women who still breastfeeding their infants at 6 months of age did not change. A major decrease in vaccine-preventable infectious diseases in the Bedouin population was found. All theses changes were temporally associated with the transition of over 60% of the Bedouin population from a semi-nomadic life style to permanent settlements, which began in 1978 and continuing up to the present.

Conclusion. Transition from nomadism to a sedentary existence is a positive social determinant of the health of children.