BACKGROUND The extended care model of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) identifies knowledge/beliefs, nutritional status, mental health, control of resources/autonomy, workload/time constraints and social support as important caregiver resources for childcare. The aim of this paper is to examine the role of mothers' caregiving resources in child-care practices in slums. METHODS A cr...

BACKGROUND Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) exist in slums as the inhabitants adopt an urbanized lifestyle which places them at a higher risk for. Lack of knowledge about the morbidity, complications and the method of control contributes to a large percentage of undetected and untreated cases. METHODS This cross-sectional survey polled 2,434 respondents from Ijora Oloye, Ajegunle and Makoko, ...

Improper complementary feeding (CF) practice is one of the main reasons for malnutrition among Bangladeshi children aged less than two years. In this context, using the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), this study assessed the CF practices among mothers in four selected slums (Tejgoan, Rayerbazar, Beribadh, and Jafrabad) of Dhaka city. This descriptive study, conducted during J...

The economic growth and demographic changes in Indian cities are posing a serious challenge to urban local authorities. By the year 2020, Indian urban centers including Bangalore will witness a huge increase in population. With the rapidly growing urban population, the need for infrastructure services increases manifold. The increase in per capita income and the concomitant industrial and servi...

OBJECTIVE Lead exposure has been associated with intellectual impairment in children in a number of international studies. Prevalence of elevated blood lead levels (eBLL > or = 10ug/dL) of between 5 - 15% has been reported among in Nairobi (UNEP, 2006). However, little is known about potential environmental exposure for eBLLs among children in Kibera, Nairobi. METHODS A descriptive, cross-sec...

BACKGROUND Several studies have demonstrated a link between young people's sexual behavior and levels of parental monitoring, parent-child communication, and parental discipline in Western countries. However, little is known about this association in African settings, especially among young people living in high poverty settings such as urban slums. The objective of the study was to assess the ...

BACKGROUND The problem of intermittent piped water supplies that exists in low- and middle-income countries is particularly severe in the slums of sub-Saharan Africa. However, little is known about whether there is deterioration of the microbiological quality of the intermittent piped water supply at a household level and whether it is a factor in reducing or increasing the occurrence of acute ...

The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved. doi:10.1093/eurpub/cki170 Advance Access publication February 9, 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

BACKGROUND Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease of global importance and often neglected as a public health problem due to lack of awareness, under-diagnosis and under-reporting. Animals serve as a source of transmission through the shedding of Leptospira in their urine. Because of their proximity to humans, dogs may play a role in human infections. In order to assess and mitigate leptospirosis ...