Research & Literature

Throughout the development of our project we reference many publications and materials regarding our problem area and target users. Here we have compiled a list of some of the most influential and informative publications we have used.

Challenges to Public Health in the Favelas of Metropolitan Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Handbook of Global Urban Health.

I. Snyder, R.E., Lovero, K.L., Cardoso, C.A., Riley, L.W., & Unger, A. (2019).

Summary:

The particular chapter of this book on public health in urban settings around the world focuses on impoverished neighborhoods (favelas) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the ways in which living conditions (including limited access to safe water and sanitation, high population density, and residence insecurity) and other factors contribute to specific public health issues.

  • Transmission of respiratory diseases is extremely common
  • Poor structural quality of housing and low viability of streets and walkways can be exacerbated by the elements (flooding, fire, land/mud slides), increasing the risk of falls, burn injuries, drowning
  • Especially important when considering the wellbeing and accessibility to inhabitants with restricted mobility
  • Adverse health outcomes as a result of characteristics of favelas → points to greater need for easier access to healthcare
    • Healthcare resources (particularly maternal health) underutilized by residents because the system is overburdened, and because of violence within the neighborhoods

Measuring mobility inequalities of favela residents based on mobile phone data

André Leite Rodrigues, Mariana Giannotti, Matheus H.C. Cunha Barboza, Bianca Bianchi Alves, Measuring mobility inequalities of favela residents based on mobile phone data, Habitat International, Volume 110, 2021, 102346, ISSN 0197-3975, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2021.102346

Summary:

This paper details a research study into the mobility of inhabitants of favelas in Sao Paulo, Brazil based on analysis of mobile phone location data. The study showed that favela residents travel greater distances from home than non-inhabitants, both during the week and on the weekends.

  • Many work in higher income residence areas
  • Correlation between active hours for public transportation and increased mobility of favela residents
  • Results indicate that a high level of mobility is likely necessary to be able to commute long distances to and from work.

Equity of access to health care for older adults in four major Latin American cities.

Wallace, Steven & Gutiérrez, Verónica. (2005). Revista panamericana de salud pública = Pan American journal of public health. 17. 394-409. 10.1590/S1020-49892005000500012.

Summary:

The study above attempted to identify if older adults have equitable access to health services in four major Latin American cities: São Paulo, Santiago, Mexico City and Montevideo. This was then correlated with the economic situation of each country to determine if the inequities that are found follow the patterns of economic inequality in each of the four nations studied. The study analyzed home-care in hard-to-reach places and also transportation from households to public health clinics. It was found that there is a major inequality in accessibility, acceptability and transportation to and from hospitals for older patients.

  • "A better level of access in a country does not guarantee a better distribution of that access."
  • In cities such as Montevideo there is generally good access experienced by wealthier older persons, who are disproportionately privately insured.
  • Older persons with a medical visit in São Paulo experience more economic inequities in availability (travel over 30 minutes to last visit), accessibility (wait of one month or more for an appointment), and acceptability (wait of over 60 minutes in the doctor’s office)
  • Access to an automobile cuts the odds of a long travel time to medical care almost in half, and the highest-education group is the least likely to face long travel times.’
  • It is likely that the poor and elderly would have better access to care in those major cities than would similar persons in smaller urban areas and rural areas of the same countries.