Urbanization, Urbanicity, and Health

Vlahov, David; Galea, Sandro

doi:10.1093/jurban/79.suppl_1.s1

Cited by 432 publications

(347 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…33 Recent evidence suggests that within-urban differences in health are much larger than intrarural disparities and that the spatial patterning of intra-urban variations in health and survival are closely associated with the spatial patterning of socioeconomic conditions within the cities. 14,34,35 Our findings on the provision of health services in the Nairobi slum communities concurs with those reported in other studies in substantiating the concern that the well-established concept of urban health advantage has shifted to urban penalty for rapidly growing segments of urban populations in the developing world.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The specific objectives are: (1) to describe the provision of obstetric care in the Nairobi informal settlements; (2) to describe the patterns of antenatal and delivery care, notably in terms of timing, frequency and quality of care; and (3) to draw policy implications aimed at improving maternal health among the rapidly growing urban poor populations.…”

Section: Poor Maternal Health Progress In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The region's urban population was 15% in 1950, 32% in 1990, and the United Nations projects that by 2020, a majority of sub-Saharan Africa's population will live in urban areas. 1,2 While in the first half of the twentieth century urbanization was predominantly confined to countries that enjoyed the highest levels of per capita income, in the more recent past and for the near future, the most visible changes in urbanization have occurred and will continue to occur in middle-and low-income countries. 3 The essential feature of current patterns of urbanization in Africa is that in many countries, the pace of urbanization has outstripped economic growth, making it difficult for national and urban authorities to provide affordable housing, quality social services, or sufficient employment to the growing urban populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Provision and Use of Maternal Health Services among Urban Poor Women in Kenya: What Do We Know and What Can We Do?

2008

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In sub-Saharan Africa, the unprecedented population growth that started in the second half of the twentieth century has evolved into unparalleled urbanization and an increasing proportion of urban dwellers living in slums and shanty towns, making it imperative to pay greater attention to the health problems of the urban poor. In particular, urgent efforts need to focus on maternal health. Despite the lack of reliable trend data on maternal mortality, some investigators now believe that progress in maternal health has been very slow in sub-Saharan Africa. This study uses a unique combination of health facility-and individual-level data collected in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya to: (1) describe the provision of obstetric care in the Nairobi informal settlements; (2) describe the patterns of antenatal and delivery care, notably in terms of timing, frequency, and quality of care; and (3) draw policy implications aimed at improving maternal health among the rapidly growing urban poor populations. It shows that the study area is deprived of public health services, a finding which supports the view that low-income urban residents in developing countries face significant obstacles in accessing health care. This study also shows that despite the high prevalence of antenatal care (ANC), the proportion of women who made the recommended number of visits or who initiated the visit in the first trimester of pregnancy remains low compared to Nairobi as a whole and, more importantly, compared to rural populations. Bivariate analyses show that household wealth, education, parity, and place of residence were closely associated with frequency and timing of ANC and with place of delivery. Finally, there is a strong linkage between use of antenatal care and place of delivery. The findings of this study call for urgent attention by Kenya's Ministry of Health and local authorities to the void of quality health services in poor urban communities and the need to provide focused and sustained health education geared towards promoting use of obstetric services.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Poor Maternal Health Progress In Developing Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Provision and Use of Maternal Health Services among Urban Poor Women in Kenya: What Do We Know and What Can We Do?

2008

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“…Monitoring these developments and creating sustainable urban environments remain crucial issues on the international development agenda." -United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs/ Population Division (UN, 2004) of various infectious and chronic diseases, exposure to environmental pollution, poor mental health, increased tobacco, alcohol, and drug use, higher risk of injury, and higher crime rates (Ghassemi, Harrison, & Mohammad, 2002;Gracey, 2002;Keiser, Utzinger, Caldas de Castro, Smith, Tanner, & Singer, 2004;McMichael, 2000;Montgomery, Stren, Cohen, & Reed, 2003;Mutatkar, 1995;Popkin, 2001;Popkin & Gordon-Larsen, 2004;Vlahov & Galea, 2002;Vorster, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the urban environment: A scale measure of urbanicity outperforms the urban–rural dichotomy

Dahly

Adair

2007

Social Science & Medicine

192

209

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The rapid urbanization of the developing world has important consequences for human health. Although several authorities have called for better research on the relationships between urbanicity and health, most researchers still use a poor measurement of urbanicity, the urban-rural dichotomy. Our goal was to construct a scale of urbanicity using community level data from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey. We used established scale development methods to validate the new measure and tested its performance against the dichotomy. The new scale illustrated misclassification by the urban-rural dichotomy, and was able to detect differences in urbanicity, both between communities and across time, that were not apparent before. Furthermore, using a continuous measure of urbanicity allowed for better illustrations of the relationships between urbanicity and health. The new scale is a better measure of urbanicity than the traditionally used urban-rural dichotomy.

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“…[3][4][5] These hazards contribute to the increasing gap in health status between rich and poor, white and nonwhite and urban and nonurban. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12] In order to address these social, physical and economic determinants of urban health, researchers, public health practitioners, and community members have turned to more comprehensive and participatory approaches to research and interventions. 4,[13][14][15][16][17] One such approach, community-based participatory research (CBPR) in public health, is characterized by a partnership between community members, representatives from community-based organizations and health and social service agencies, and academic researchers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and Facilitating Factors in Sustaining Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships: Lessons Learned from the Detroit, New York City and Seattle Urban Research Centers

et al. 2006

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In order to address the social, physical and economic determinants of urban health, researchers, public health practitioners, and community members have turned to more comprehensive and participatory approaches to research and interventions. One such approach, community-based participatory research (CBPR) in public health, has received considerable attention over the past decade, and numerous publications have described theoretical underpinnings, values, principles and practice. Issues related to the long-term sustainability of partnerships and activities have received limited attention. The purpose of this article is to examine the experiences and lessons learned from three Urban Research Centers (URCs) in Detroit, New York City, and Seattle, which were initially established in 1995 with core support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The experience of these Centers after core funding ceased in 2003 provides a case study to identify the challenges and facilitating factors for sustaining partnerships. We examine three broad dimensions of CBPR partnerships that we consider important for sustainability: (1) sustaining relationships and commitments among the partners involved; (2) sustaining the knowledge, capacity and values generated from the partnership; and (3) sustaining funding, staff, programs, policy changes and the partnership itself. We discuss the challenges faced by the URCs in sustaining these dimensions and the strategies used to overcome these challenges. Based on these experiences, we offer recommendations for: strategies that partnerships may find useful in sustaining their CBPR efforts; ways in which a Center mechanism can be useful for promoting sustainability; and considerations for funders of CBPR to increase sustainability.Israel, Lichtenstein, and McGranaghan are with the

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Urbanization, Urbanicity, and Health

Cited by 432 publications

References 37 publications

Provision and Use of Maternal Health Services among Urban Poor Women in Kenya: What Do We Know and What Can We Do?

Provision and Use of Maternal Health Services among Urban Poor Women in Kenya: What Do We Know and What Can We Do?

Quantifying the urban environment: A scale measure of urbanicity outperforms the urban–rural dichotomy

Challenges and Facilitating Factors in Sustaining Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships: Lessons Learned from the Detroit, New York City and Seattle Urban Research Centers

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