Urban health in developing countries: a review

Abstract

The last major review of urban health in developing countries was published in 1992. At that time, knowledge was largely limited to crude rural-urban comparisons and some ad hoc studies of low-income urban communities. Most research was done on communicable (infectious) diseases and little was known about the relationship between urban life in developing countries and chronic illness such as mental ill-health, heart disease and cancer. This paper updates knowledge by reviewing recent research on intra-urban health inequalities, urban health-seeking behaviour and the importance of urban-rural links for health. It also presents a new model of urban health that incorporates changes in urban health research and practice.