ABSTRACT

Urban health research in developing countries is not a new discipline but it is time for some new approaches. Much of the early urban health research was dominated by descriptive epidemiological approaches but, in order to place health risks in a sociocultural context, there is a need to supplement the research with relevant sociological and anthropological studies. Public opinion can be an important factor when deciding on research priorities and it may be necessary to address issues of public concern before other less obvious, yet significant, health problems. Urban health research faces many special problems and, despite the attempts to prevent rapid urbanization which have been made in many countries, urban growth seems to be inevitable. A critical issue for urban health research is the enigma that a very large proportion of morbidity and mortality in the developing world is the result of preventable disease.