Submission ID 131561
| Issue/Objective | Climate change and extreme weather events present significant health and livelihood risks for people living in urban informal settlements across low- and lower-middle-income countries. Within these contexts, socioeconomic vulnerabilities, as well as spatial and political marginalization, frequently compound climate-health risks. Existing literature has explored the range and nature of climate adaptation interventions in informal settings; however, there is a need to identify and synthesize the health-related co-benefits and co-risks associated with these approaches, as well as how they may be experienced differentially among residents of urban informal settlements. |
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| Methodology/Approach | Informed by PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search and critical review of published and grey literature was conducted. Three interdisciplinary and health academic databases were systematically searched to retrieve published literature: PubMed®, Scopus®, and Web of Science™. No restrictions on date of publication, language, or type of record were applied at the search stage to capture a wide array of literature reflective of the global diversity of urban informal settlements. A two-stage screening process of published literature was conducted by two independent reviewers. Data were extracted from included published and grey literature using COVIDENCE® by one reviewer and thematically analyzed using a constant comparative approach. |
| Results | Thirty-three published articles and eleven grey literature sources met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Most literature profiled behavioural strategies, infrastructural climate adaptation interventions, or nature-based solutions. The types of health-related co-benefits and co-risks identified were often connected to mental health and psychosocial well-being; water, sanitation, and hygiene; infectious disease; and broader livelihoods. Some literature described how participation in and access to adaptation interventions was unevenly distributed across populations living in urban informal settlements. In some cases, intervention design and implementation features contributed to more extensive participation in or access to interventions. However, analyses of how these features were associated with health-related co-benefits and co-risks were limited. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | Opportunity exists for broadened understandings of health-related co-benefits and co-risks associated with climate adaptation interventions that account for the unique spatial and social realities of urban informal settlements across low- and lower-middle-income countries. |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Laura Jane Brubacher University of Waterloo Bridget Beggs University of Waterloo Moses Tetui University of Waterloo Alice Sverdlik University of Manchester Megan Schmidt-Sane Institute of Development Studies Annie Wilkinson Institute of Development Studies Arabella Fraser Open University Artwell Kadungure Training and Research Support Centre Joseph Macarthy Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre Braima Koroma Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre Hakimu Sseviiri Makerere University Abu Conteh Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre Amadu Labor Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre Peter Kasaija Makerere University Paul Isolo Mukwaya Makerere University Craig Janes University of Waterloo Warren Dodd University of Waterloo |
