South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics

Background: Tribal communities in India experience a diverse burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, with morbidity varying according to geographical, environmental, socio-economic, and healthcare conditions. However, spatial patterns of morbidity within tribal populations remain insufficiently examined at the sub-district level. This study analyses the geographical patterns of morbidity among tribal communities in Nashik district.

Methods: The study is based on primary data collected from 607 tribal households across 48 villages in 15 tahsils of Nashik district using a stratified random sampling approach. Tribal villages with more than 50% tribal population were identified using Census 2011 data, of which 5% of tribal villages were selected from each tahsil, followed by household-level sampling. Data on 12 selected diseases were analysed using incidence and prevalence rates. A Composite Morbidity Index was developed by integrating incidence and prevalence indicators after Min–Max normalisation.

Results: The findings reveal substantial spatial and disease-specific heterogeneity in morbidity among the sampled tribal households. A total of 693 disease cases were reported, producing an overall incidence rate of 210.64 per 1,000 population based on the study denominator. The highest tahsil-level incidence rate was recorded in Deola (324.32 per 1,000), whereas Igatpuri recorded the lowest rate (159.00 per 1,000). The prevalence analysis recorded 673 morbidity cases, with an overall prevalence of 20.46%. Deola exhibited the highest prevalence (28.38%), while Kalwan recorded the lowest (14.99%). The CMI demonstrated pronounced spatial inequalities, ranging from 4.88 in Kalwan to 100.00 in Deola. Deola, Sinnar, and Chandwad were classified as high-morbidity tahsils, while Peint, Malegaon, Baglan, Surgana, Trimbakeshwar, and Niphad showed moderate morbidity levels.

Conclusion: The study demonstrates that morbidity among the sampled tribal communities is spatially heterogeneous rather than uniformly distributed across Nashik district. Malaria and respiratory illnesses constitute major components of the observed morbidity burden, while localised occurrences of other diseases indicate geographically differentiated health concerns. The CMI provides a useful spatial framework for comparing morbidity across tahsils and supporting geographically targeted health planning. The findings underline the need for strengthened disease surveillance, preventive healthcare, vector control, sanitation improvement, and accessible primary healthcare services in areas exhibiting higher morbidity.