Ill-health and poverty: a literature review on health in informal settlements

@article{Sverdlik2011IllhealthAP,
  title={Ill-health and poverty: a literature review on health in informal settlements},
  author={Alice Sverdlik},
  journal={Environment \& Urbanization},
  year={2011},
  volume={23},
  pages={123 - 155}
}
  • A. Sverdlik
  • Published 2011
  • Political Science
  • Environment & Urbanization
This paper reviews the literature on health in the informal settlements (and “slums”) that now house a substantial proportion of the urban population in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Although this highlights some important gaps in research, available studies do suggest that urban health inequalities usually begin at birth, are reproduced over a lifetime (often reinforced by undernutrition), and may be recreated through vulnerabilities to climate change and a “double burden” of communicable… Expand
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136 Citations

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Citation Type

Informal Settlements and Human Health
Informal settlements or slums dominate the urban landscape and in 2016 were the home to almost 900 million people. Global health is now slum health. The determinants of health for slum dwellers are… Expand
A Systematised Review of the Health Impact of Urban Informal Settlements and Implications for Upgrading Interventions in South Africa, a Rapidly Urbanising Middle-Income Country
  • Amy Weimann, T. Oni
  • Geography, Medicine
  • International journal of environmental research and public health
  • 2019
TLDR
There is a need for further research utilising a systems approach to generate evidence that investigates the interlinked factors that longitudinally influence health in the context of informal settlement upgrading in rapidly growing cities worldwide. Expand
Children's health in slum settings
  • Alon Unger
  • Medicine
  • Archives of Disease in Childhood
  • 2013
TLDR
Limited but consistent evidence suggests higher infant and under-five years mortality for children residing in slums compared with non-slum areas, and the consequences of this form of early childhood on long-term health-related behaviour and non-communicable disease outcomes, such as obesity, heart disease and mental illness. Expand
Revealing and Responding to Multiple Health Risks in Informal Settlements in Sub-Saharan African Cities
TLDR
The need for additional data on multiple risks to advance urban health and well-being and support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is underscored and the need to strengthen accountable urban governance is highlighted. Expand
Slum Dwellers and Savings: Organizing for Change in Informal Settlements
Perhaps one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century is managing the health of populations in the context of rapid urbanization and the growth of slums in the cities of the global… Expand
The history, geography, and sociology of slums and the health problems of people who live in slums
TLDR
Why slums are unhealthy places with especially high risks of infection and injury is discussed and it is shown that children are especially vulnerable, and that the combination of malnutrition and recurrent diarrhoea leads to stunted growth and longer-term effects on cognitive development. Expand
Housing, Health, and Ageing in Texas Colonias and Informal Subdivisions
Literature on housing and health outcomes among the elderly generally covers issues such as the relationship between housing quality and health; the intersection between place and space at different… Expand
Editorial: The full spectrum of risk in urban centres: changing perceptions, changing priorities
In many urban centres in the global South, there is little or no information on either the scale or the causes of premature death, serious injury, illness or impoverishment. In sub-Saharan Africa,… Expand
Dependency, Urban Slums, and the Forgotten Plagues
Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria remain leading causes of death in certain areas of the world system and directly contribute to persistent patterns in global inequality. I employ structural equation… Expand
Environmental Correlates of Health-Related Quality of Life among Women Living in Informal Settlements in Kenya
TLDR
Examining potential environmental correlates, specifically access to water and sanitation, of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among 552 women in Mathare slum in Nairobi, Kenya suggested that access to a toilet at all times was associated with every subscale of the mental health and general well-being domains of the SF-36. Expand
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