In China, rapid development has prompted massive migration from rural to urban areas. Migrants’ participation in Urban Residents Committees (URCs) and other community organizations offers opportunities for the development of social capital and democracy in contemporary China. We use 2006 survey data from a stratified convenience sample of 3,024 migrant workers in 7 Chinese cities to examine ind...

BACKGROUND Small-area studies of health inequalities often have an urban focus, and may be limited in their translatability to non-urban settings. Using small-area units representing communities, this study assessed the influence of living in different settlement types (urban, town and rural) on the prevalence of four chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke) and compared th...

Using bird survey data taken in three cities in Southern Chile, we evaluated the hypothesis that changes in community composition from periurban to urban areas are not random. Furthermore, the consistency of species and guild loss was assessed across cities. A consistent pattern of difference in community and guild structure between urban and periurban habitats was found. In addition, a nonrand...

OBJECTIVE To compare the prevalence of components of the metabolic syndrome, including hypertension, abnormal glucose metabolism, dyslipidemia, central obesity, and overall obesity, between a rural and an urban Palestinian West Bank community. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 500 rural and 492 urban men and women aged 30-65 years participated in a community-based cross-sectional survey ...

OBJECTIVE Urban/rural residence is a critical health determinant and one researchers have historically found to distinguish health experiences. In this study, we investigated variations in older adult mortality across urban and rural areas of China and assessed mechanisms driving an urban advantage through a series of socioeconomic and health service covariates measured at individual and commun...

BACKGROUND Large proportions of people still do not have excess to safe drinking water and proper sanitation. METHODS Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to assess the health impacts. Random households were selected. Information was collected from questionnaire through interview schedule method, group discussion and observation checklist. RESULTS People rated water and sanitat...