Mental ill health forms an increasingly significant part of the burden of disease in developing countries. The growing interest in social risk factors for mental health coincides with the development of social capital research which may further inform the social model of mental health. The...

Urban growth has been accompanied by the development of bimodal labour markets and increasing inequalities in both North and South. In Southern cities, many of the poor have turned to the informal sector, in particular to street trade. This has resulted in a multiplicity of urban conflicts and...

The poverty and dramatic alteration in geographical composition of African cities have been associated with rapid urbanisation, the growth of the informal economy and migration. The latter has separated individuals from long-established social and kinship networks, and from familiar livelihood...

Many developing countries are trying to improve the routine collection of health information by strengthening surveys, censuses, and registration systems. At the international level, too, efforts are underway to provide information on health and health interventions, including statistical...

In 2005, in recognition of the role of social factors in increasing health inequities, the World Health Organisation established the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. South Africa is among the most unequal societies in the world. It faces serious public health challenges,...

A study of 883 mothers with children aged 0-9 years was undertaken in Kilifi district on the Kenyan coast in order to examine child malaria treatment practices. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to investigate: whether complications of childhood malaria were recognized;...

Irrational prescribing and over-prescription is a world-wide problem. Prescribers often cite patient demand as one of the main reasons why they over-prescribe, but the degree to which this is so is unknown. This article describes a study to test the hypothesis that patient demand causes...

The role of social capital in promoting health is now widely debated within international public health. In relation to HIV, the results of previous observational and cross-sectional studies have been mixed. In some settings it has been suggested that high levels of social capital and community...

Urbanization in developing countries involves changes in social support and life events which have been shown to affect mental health; mainly depression and anxiety, particularly among low income women. Although depressive and anxiety disorders have a high prevalence and account for a large...

Much of the current reform of urban health systems in sub-Saharan Africa focuses upon the referral system between different levels of care. It is often assumed that patients are by-passing primary facilities which leads to congestion at hospital outpatient departments. Zambia is well advanced in...