Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
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We used four methods (direct count, indirect count, wisdom of the crowd, and unique object multiplier) to map and estimate the population size of street children in six major cities in Iran in 2017. In aggregate for the six cities, the number of street children was estimated at 5296 (interquartile range [IQR] 4122-7071) using the median of the four methods. ⋯ Results can help policy-makers advocate for resources, plan programs, and evaluate the reach of programs for street children. The maps created through the course of the population size estimation exercise can also guide outreach efforts to provide street children with health and social welfare services.
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Street-level environment characteristics influence the health behaviors and safety of urban residents, and may particularly threaten health within informal communities. However, available data on how such characteristics vary within and among informal communities is limited. We sought to adapt street audit strategies designed to characterize the physical environment for use in a large informal community, Rio das Pedras (RdP) located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ⋯ Future deployment of such tools will benefit from incorporating data collection across multiple time points to explore reliability and quantify neighborhood change. These tools can prove useful means to assess street-level exposures that can be modifiable health determinants across a wide range of informal urban settings. Findings can contribute to improved urban planning and provide useful information for identifying potential locations for neighborhood-scaled interventions that can improve living conditions for residents in Rio das Pedras.
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Approximately 25 million people in the United States are limited English proficient (LEP). Appropriate language services can improve care for LEP individuals, and health care facilities receiving federal funds are required to provide such services. Recognizing the risk of inadequate comprehension of prescription medication instructions, between 2008 and 2012, New York City and State passed a series of regulations that require chain pharmacies to provide translated prescription labels and other language services to LEP patients. ⋯ Our findings demonstrate a significant improvement in capacity of chains to assist LEP patients. A higher proportion of chain pharmacies surveyed in 2015 reported printing translated labels, access and use of telephone interpreter services, multilingual signage, and documentation of language needs in patient records. These findings illustrate the potential impact of policy changes on institutional practices that impact large and vulnerable portions of the population.
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Area-level indicators of the determinants of health are vital to plan and monitor progress toward targets such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Tools such as the Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool (Urban HEART) and UN-Habitat Urban Inequities Surveys identify dozens of area-level health determinant indicators that decision-makers can use to track and attempt to address population health burdens and inequalities. However, questions remain as to how such indicators can be measured in a cost-effective way. ⋯ This paper aims to broaden perceptions about which types of datasets are available for health and development decision-making. For data scientists, we flag area-level indicators at city and sub-city scales identified by health decision-makers in the SDGs, Urban HEART, and other initiatives. For local health decision-makers, we summarize a menu of new datasets that can be feasibly generated from EO, mobile phone, and other spatial data-ideally to be made free and publicly available-and offer lay descriptions of some of the difficulties in generating such data products.
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Slum dweller youth in Kampala, Uganda, face social economic exclusion and a plethora of health risks, and their needs are poorly understood. The aim of the current study was to analyze their needs and to suggest contextual evidence-based solutions to improve their well-being sustainably. We conducted a qualitative study involving 10 focus group discussions (FGDs; N = 113) and 20 key informant (KII) interviews. ⋯ The societal-level factors were poor sexual and reproductive health services, and an extremely weak labor market. The needs of slum dweller youth in Kampala, Uganda, remain unaddressed, and leaving such a large population economically unproductive and dissatisfied with life is a recipe for political instability and insecurity. Interventions to address their needs need to adopt a whole-community approach in order to engage and empower all parts of the slum community and strengthen community structures that improve livelihoods and harness the opportunities that engender income fortification and socio-civic transformation for the youth.