Rethinking the "Urban Advantage": Differences in Child Diarrhea across Rural, Urban Non-Slum and Urban Slum Locations in India

Jamie McPike, Brown University
Nancy Luke, Brown University

The proliferation of slums highlights the importance of understanding the challenges facing slum dwellers, particularly with respect to their health. Theories of urban health have focused largely on health inequalities between rural and urban populations, but the high levels of poverty and poor living conditions facing slum residents demonstrate a need to examine how and why health outcomes vary between rural, urban, and slum populations. Using data from the 2005 Indian Human Development Survey, we examine the nature and degree of child health differences in rural, urban, and slum locations in India. Analysis of child diarrhea determinants by location demonstrate that in rural areas, maternal and child characteristics are highly significant determinants of child diarrhea. In urban and slum locations household income is a significant predictor of child diarrhea, but not in rural areas. Overall, housing characteristics are significant determinants of child diarrhea in rural, urban, and slum locations.