The impact of slum growth on community health : a case study of Naguru go-down Kampala, Uganda

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Date
2012-09
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Kampala International University, School of engineering and applied science
Abstract
This report has been written following a research study to investigate the impacts of slum growth on the community health of the people living in them. The research was carried out in Naguru go-down a slum in Kampala- Uganda. The research study intended to achieve the following objectives. To investigate slum conditions in Naguru go-down, to examine how the developing slums are affecting health of the communities living in Naguru-go down and to find out challenges to proper slum development. A number of 80 respondents were consulted to represent the entire population in the study area. These were chosen by simple random sampling and they responded through questionnaires provided to them and interviews conducted by the researcher on some of them. Observations were also made by the research some of which were represented by photographs taken by the researcher in order to collect data. The data collected from the respondents was compiled, analyzed and edited using frequencies, tables, pie-charts and photographs that are explained in description. The study revealed that community health in slum areas is very poor and this is attributed to, the poor nature of housing in most these slums, low quality community health based facilities which included unclean sources of water used domestically, poor solid waste disposal, poorly placed sanitary facilities like lavatory facilities that are mainly pit latrines and are unclean, where also sewage channels are open and are at a unhealthy distance from residential homes, there is deteriorating health in the community due to inaccessibility to health care brought about by poverty that does not enable the residents to afford health services, poor hygiene and unsanitary conditions as the main causes. The main health concerns in the slum were found to be indoor air pollution due to using unclean fuels like charcoal indoors, lack of access to clean water and poor health of which the most common diseases found affecting the area were cough and flu, malaria, asthma, tuberculosis and diarrhea diseases like dysentery.From the concerns effects of the health conditions on the socio-economic aspect of the people, current efforts in addressing the health concerns and the effectiveness of the health providing facilities in the area were shown. The respondents also agreed that there is a relationship between slum growth and community health in which they have a negative correlation where the community health deteriorates with increase slum growth. After which recommendations were suggested to tackle the problems and causes that have led to the poor community health in the slum area.
Description
A research report submitted to the department of biological and environmental science in partial fulfillment for the award of bachelors of science degree in environmental management of Kampala International University
Keywords
Slum growth, Community health, Naguru go-down, Kampala, Uganda
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