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A survey of health visitor records has indicated that approximately one-third of pregnancies resulting in live births are unplanned. The data further revealed an association between planning of pregnancies and socio-demographic variables and use of preventive health care for infants.
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The urban poor constitute a rapidly increasing proportion of the population in developing countries. Focusing attention on underserved urban slums and squatter settlements will contribute greatly to immunization programme goals, because these areas account for 30-50% of urban populations, usually provide low access to health services, carry a large burden of disease mortality, and act as sources of infection for the city and surrounding rural areas. Improvement of urban immunization programmes requires intersectorial collaboration, use of all opportunities to vaccinate eligible children and mothers, identification of low-coverage neighbourhoods and execution of extra activities in these neighbourhoods, and community mobilization to identify and refer persons for vaccination. Improved disease surveillance helps to identify high-risk populations and document programme impact. New developments in vaccines, such as the high-dose Edmonston-Zagreb vaccine, will allow changes in the immunization schedule that facilitate the control of specific diseases. Finally, operational research can assist managers to conduct urban situation assessments, evaluate programme performance at the "micro" level, and design and monitor interventions.
Results of a survey of some urban areas in the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereenining region show differential impacts of proximate and socioeconomic factors on the fertility of urban blacks and whites. Timing of starting and ending of childbearing and the reproductive behaviour of women who have never been married account for the major differences in fertility levels. White women confine their childbearing career to the 20-39 age range, while black women utilise the entire 15-49 age range. The fertility level is quite high among black women who have never been married (in contrast to never married white women). With the exception of breast-feeding, racial patterns in other proximate determinants of fertility do not suggest the observed racial differentials in fertility.
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During a 12-month period (November 1994-October 1995), Afro-Brazilian Umbanda healers (Pais-de-Santo) taught 126 fellow healers from 51 Umbanda centres (terreiros) located in seven overcrowded slums (favelas) (population 104-343) in Brazil's northeast, the biomedical prevention of AIDS, including safe sex practices, avoidance of ritual blood behaviours and sterilization of cutting instruments. A face-to-face educational intervention by healers, marginalized in society yet respected by devotees, which blended traditional healing-its language, codes, symbols and images- and scientific medicine and addressed social injustices and discrimination was utilized in this project supported by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, National Program in STDs/AIDS. Significant increases (P < 0.001) in AIDS awareness, knowledge about risky HIV behaviour, information about correct condom use, and acceptance of lower-risk, alternative ritual blood practices and decreases (P < 0.001) in prejudicial attitudes related to HIV transmission were found among mobilized healers as compared to 100 untrained controls. Respected Afro-Brazilian Pais-de-Santo can be creative and effective partners in national HIV prevention programmes when they are equipped with biomedical information about AIDS.
"This paper aims to investigate the theoretical background of Allen and Sanglier's model, slightly modifying it. We construct a dynamic two-city population model in which there are different types of urban functions in the cities. Population dynamics of both cities are expressed in terms of a system of differential equations of the logistic type, taking account of spatial interaction between them. For this model, both the existence condition and the globally asymptotic stability of the equilibrium state are theoretically explored. Then configurations of equilibrium population distribution that correspond to different combinations of the numbers of types of urban functions in two cities are also examined. Finally, some numerical simulations are done in order to supplement the theoretical considerations."
BACKGROUND: In the last decade, Latin America has experienced important transformations in its health conditions, due to demographic changes and a rapid urbanization process. AIM: To analyze socioeconomic, demographic and epidemiological changes in Chile, Guatemala, Mexico and Uruguay and relate them to the different stages in the demographic and epidemiological transition of these countries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data was obtained from official information of local and international organizations such as Pan-American Health Organization, United Nations, Latin American Center for Demography (CELADE) and World Bank. RESULTS: Guatemala is in a pre-transition stage with a high proportion of communicable diseases as causes of death (61%) as compared with Mexico (22%), Chile (13%) and Uruguay (7%). Mexico is in a prolonged transition situation and Chile is close to Uruguay in a post-transitional stage. Despite decreasing rates of mortality, the proportion of deaths represented by chronic diseases and injuries has increased to over 30% in all countries, except Uruguay. Adjusted mortality rates for cardiovascular diseases are lower in Latin American countries, as compared to Canada. However, excepting Guatemala, there are differences in the pattern of cardiovascular disease, with a higher mortality due to cerebrovascular and a lower mortality due to coronary artery diseases. CONCLUSIONS: An increment in non communicable diseases is expected for the next decades in Latin America. Analysis of demographic and epidemiological transition is crucial to define health policies and to adequate health systems to the new situations.
"This paper is aimed at presenting the salient features of the morphology of India's urbanization paying due attention to interstate variations. We will find a lot of variations among the states in terms of their basic indices of urbanization. There are six sections in this paper. Section II deals with how to define an urban area. Section III presents a picture of the patterns of population transformation in India with due consideration to changes in the birth and death rates over time. Section IV examines the main features of the morphology of India's urbanization, discussing the level of urbanization, primacy patterns, interstate differences in urbanization, and the components of urban growth. Section V deals with the structure and pattern of migration in order to explain the background to India's slow urbanization."
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
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"This article examines some of the links between the phenomena of urban migration and squatter settlements in the Third World city. This will be done by demonstrating that both are outcomes of fundamental social and political forces that have operated on these societies. Migration and squatting are placed in a context of the historical processes that led to the uneven development of Malaysia. The article offers some explanation for the origin of the inequalities observed in spatial structures--in this case urban housing--by focusing on one of the contributory factors, namely migration."
"The purpose of the present paper [is] to investigate further the role of migration in developing countries by analyzing the components of population growth in 26 large metropolitan areas in Africa, Asia, and Latin America." The process of urban population growth is first described. Then, using data from censuses and official U.N. sources, the author examines the relative importance of migration and natural increase in urban growth and in the growth of the largest urban areas. The focus is primarily on the period 1960-1970. Consideration is also given to "estimates of the natural increase of migrants after their arrival in the city in order to assess the full effect of net migration on metropolitan growth, analyses of the relationships between the components of growth and several structural variables and, finally, a discussion of the results." The importance of migration as a factor affecting urban growth is noted.
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