CGPH FACULTY: Jason Corburn
DATE OF PUBLICATION: November 2014
REGION: Africa
REFERENCE: Corburn J, Karanja I. Informal settlements and a relational view of health in Nairobi, Kenya: sanitation, gender and dignity. Health Promot Int. 2014 Nov 24. pii: dau100.
SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: On an urban planet, slums or informal settlements present an increasing challenge for health promotion. The living conditions in complex informal settlements interact with how people navigate through their daily lives and political institutions to shape health inequities. In this article, we suggest that only a relational place-based characterization of informal settlements can accurately capture the forces contributing to existing urban health inequities and inform appropriate and effective health promotion interventions. We explore our relational framework using household survey, spatial mapping and qualitative focus group data gathered in partnership with residents and non-governmental organizations in the Mathare informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. We conclude that complex informal settlements require relational and context-specific data gathering and analyses to understand the multiple determinants of health and to inform appropriate and effective healthy city interventions.
ACCESS: Link to Pubmed