Rural-Urban Migration on Adults' Helath: Slums of Dhaka North, Dhaka South and Gazipur City Corporations

Abstract

Although rural-urban migration occurs almost in every society but a little research has been done to measure the effects of such migration on health. Using database of the Health and Demographic Surveillance System of selected slums of Dhaka (North and South) and Gazipur City Corporations, 1,017 respondents of age 18 years or more were selected randomly for this study (505 for male and 512 for female). The respondents were interviewed during August-September 2016 to collect data on perceived physical and mental health statuses using 36-items Short Form. The eight scale scores were computed with these data and grouped in to two categories: physical health and mental health scores. The study reported that after controlling for selected socio-demographic variables, both physical and mental health statuses were better for nonmigrants than those of short- and long- duration migrants; these two health statuses were also consistently better for migrants of short-duration than migrants of long-duration. The study also documented better physical and mental health statuses for male than female, better health for educated than illiterate, and better health for rickshaw puller/laborer than the ‘other’ occupation category. As physical and mental health statuses get worse for people living long in the slum, it has implication on health care cost (caring and medical); such health care cost is likely to increase in future as people grow old in the slum and more people in-migrating.