title: The history, geography, and sociology of slums and the health problems of people who live in slums.
abstract: Massive slums have become major features of cities in many low-income and middle-income countries. Here, in the first in a Series of two papers, we discuss why slums are unhealthy places with especially high risks of infection and injury. We show 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. We find that the scientific literature on slum health is underdeveloped in comparison to urban health, and poverty and health. This shortcoming is important because health is affected by factors arising from the shared physical and social environment, which have effects beyond those of poverty alone. In the second paper we will consider what can be done to improve health and make recommendations for the development of slum health as a field of study.
authors.affiliation: African Population and Health Research Centre, Manga Cl, Nairobi, Kenya; School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ezeh
authors.affiliation: Warwick Centre for Applied Health Research and Delivery, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
authors.forename: Oyinlola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Oyebode
authors.affiliation: International Institute for Environment and Development, London, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Satterthwaite
authors.affiliation: Warwick Centre for Applied Health Research and Delivery, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
authors.forename: Yen-Fu
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Global Urban Observatory Research and Capacity Development Branch, United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN Avenue Gigiri, UN Complex, GPO Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ndugwa
authors.affiliation: Warwick Centre for Applied Health Research and Delivery, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sartori
authors.affiliation: African Population and Health Research Centre, Manga Cl, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Blessing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mberu
authors.affiliation: Warwick Centre for Applied Health Research and Delivery, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Melendez-Torres
authors.affiliation: African Population and Health Research Centre, Manga Cl, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Tilahun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haregu
authors.affiliation: Warwick Centre for Applied Health Research and Delivery, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
authors.forename: Samuel I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Waleska
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Caiaffa
authors.affiliation: United Nations University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Capon
authors.affiliation: Warwick Centre for Applied Health Research and Delivery, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK. Electronic address: r.j.lilford@warwick.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Lilford
mesh_terms: D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D011204:Poverty Areas; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors