Health vulnerabilities of participants to a Christian religious mass gathering event, a retrospective analysis
Abstract Background Religious mass gathering events are repeated occurrences characterized by a large convergence of populations in a specific location. These events challenge local administration and infrastructure and pose several communicable and non-communicable health risks for participants. Ho...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Discover Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-025-00779-0 |
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| Summary: | Abstract Background Religious mass gathering events are repeated occurrences characterized by a large convergence of populations in a specific location. These events challenge local administration and infrastructure and pose several communicable and non-communicable health risks for participants. However, these risks have not been clearly identified for several mass gatherings. There is a lack of data, particularly for European religious mass gatherings. One such event is Sf. Parascheva, a 9-day religious event with an attendance of 300.000 participants in 2023. This study provides a demographic description of participants requesting healthcare services during the above event and identifies healthcare needs and health risks associated with attending to identify vulnerable groups, demographic characteristics, and event factors that can help improve future planning efforts. Materials and methods A retrospective study was performed on data registries from the on-site care facilities. Demographic and presentation-related data were extracted. Univariate analysis was used to assess the risk of specific demographic groups for presenting with communicable and non-communicable diseases and to assess healthcare needs for on-site and in-hospital treatment. Further multivariate logistic regression was performed to evaluate the effect of specific demographic characteristics (such as gender, age, and type of presentation) and event determinants (moment of presentation) on healthcare burden. Results 547 events were recorded in the registries, with an incidence of 1.8/1000 participants. Women predominated (68.29% of cases), and the adult population was the largest (43.9%). Yet in univariate analysis, male gender and the elderly cohort were more likely to be coded during triage with moderate severity and receive further hospital care (OR-2.15, P = 0.012 and OR-1.81, P = 0.038 for men; OR-2.58, P = 0.002 and OR-1.86, P = 0.03 for elderly). The young population was most vulnerable to communicable diseases (OR-5.79, P < 001), while the elderly cohort was most vulnerable to non-communicable health issues such as cardiovascular disease (OR-4.99, P < 0.001). The effect of demographic characteristics on healthcare demand was maintained in our logistic regression model. Conclusion Our study highlights gender disparities in healthcare needs beyond the initial presentation and age-related vulnerabilities, which warrant tailored healthcare intervention and surveillance during the aforementioned event. |
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| ISSN: | 3005-0774 |