Harpham T, Stephens C
Urban Health Programme, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom.
World Health Stat Q. 1991;44(2):62-9.
In developing countries the level of urbanization is expected to increase to 39.5% by the end of this century and to 56.9% by 2025. The number of people living in slums and shanty towns represent about one-third of the people living in cities in developing countries. This article focuses upon these poor urban populations and comments upon their lifestyle and their exposure to hazardous environmental conditions which are associated with particular patterns of morbidity and mortality. The concept of marginality has been used to describe the lifestyle of the urban poor in developing countries. This concept is critically examined and it is argued that any concept of the urban poor in developing countries being socially, economically or politically marginal is a myth. However, it can certainly be claimed that in health terms the urban poor are marginal as demonstrated by some of the studies reviewed in this article. Most studies of the health of the urban poor in developing countries concentrate on the environmental conditions in which they live. The environmental conditions of the urban poor are one of the main hazards of the lifestyle of poor urban residents. However, other aspects of their way of life, or lifestyle, have implications for their health. Issues such as smoking, diet, alcohol and drug abuse, and exposure to occupational hazards, have received much less attention in the literature and there is an urgent need for more research in these areas.
在发展中国家，预计到本世纪末城市化水平将升至39.5%，到2025年将升至56.9%。生活在贫民窟和棚户区的人口约占发展中国家城市人口的三分之一。本文聚焦于这些城市贫困人口，评论了他们的生活方式以及他们所面临的有害环境状况，这些状况与特定的发病和死亡模式相关。边缘化概念已被用于描述发展中国家城市贫困人口的生活方式。本文对这一概念进行了批判性审视，并认为发展中国家城市贫困人口在社会、经济或政治上处于边缘地位的任何概念都是一种谬论。然而，正如本文所综述的一些研究所表明的，从健康角度来说，城市贫困人口确实处于边缘地位。发展中国家对城市贫困人口健康的大多数研究都集中在他们的生活环境条件上。城市贫困人口的环境状况是城市贫困居民生活方式的主要危害之一。然而，他们生活方式的其他方面，即生活模式，也对他们的健康有影响。诸如吸烟、饮食、酗酒和药物滥用以及接触职业危害等问题在文献中受到的关注要少得多，因此迫切需要在这些领域开展更多研究。
