Residents of urban slums are at greater risk for disease than their non-slum dwelling urban counterparts. We sought to contrast the prevalences of selected non-communicable diseases (NCDs) between Brazilian adults living in a slum and the general population of the same city, by comparing the age and sex-standardized prevalences of selected NCDs from a 2010 survey in Pau da Lima, Salvador Brazil...

BACKGROUND Leptospirosis, a spirochaetal zoonotic disease, is the cause of epidemics associated with high mortality in urban slum communities. Infection with pathogenic Leptospira occurs during environmental exposures and is traditionally associated with occupational risk activities. However, slum inhabitants reside in close proximity to environmental sources of contamination, suggesting that t...

This study evaluated the breath CH4 excretion and concentration of M. smithii in intestinal microbiota of schoolchildren from 2 slums. One hundred and eleven children from a slum near a sanitary landfill, 35 children of a slum located away from the sanitary landfill, and 32 children from a high socioeconomic level school were included in the study. Real-time PCR was performed to quantify the M....

Informal settlement upgrading is widely recognized for enhancing shelter and promoting economic development, yet its potential to improve health equity is usually overlooked. Almost one in seven people on the planet are expected to reside in urban informal settlements, or slums, by 2030. Slum upgrading is the process of delivering place-based environmental and social improvements to the urban p...

Urban migration in developing countries is expected to increase the number of slum inhabitants from 940 million in 2003 to over two billion by 2030. As socio-economic status at birth is a strong predictor of future socio-economic status, slum children seem destined to a life of poverty. However, emerging examples of empowerment appear to demonstrate possibilities of information technology to be...

Background: Middle-ear diseases in children pose a significant burden to the healthcare system. Recurrent upper respiratory tract infections, cold, and cough often initiate middle ear disease. It results mild moderate hearing impairment that can be detrimental child's linguistic development. further lead behavioural cognitive problems. The study was designed establish relationship between commo...

This paper measures migration flows and determinants in two slum settlements in Nairobi City between 2003 and 2007. The results confirm the high intensity of migration with a quarter of the total slum population and a third of those aged 15-30 being renewed annually. A circular migration system is at play whereby the majority of slum dwellers are short-term migrants spending on average less tha...

BACKGROUND Tobacco use leads to many health complications and is a risk factor for the occurrence of cardio vascular diseases, lung and oral cancers, chronic bronchitis etc. Almost 6 million people die from tobacco-related causes every year. This study was conducted to measure the prevalence of tobacco use in three different areas around Chennai city, south India. METHODS A survey of 7510 ind...

This paper examines determinants and consequences of migration from urban slums using panel data from two Nairobi slums. We analyze migration behavior of both adults and children. First, empirical analysis of labor market dynamics shows that schooling is complementary with experience (measured by duration in Nairobi) in slums jointly increasing the probability of migration to non-slum urban are...