The Most Important Social Determinants of Slum Dwellers’ Health: A Scoping Review

OBJECTIVES: Given the importance of social determinants of health in promoting the health of slum residents, this study was conducted with the aim of identifying the main dimensions and components of these determinants. METHODS: This scoping review study was conducted according to the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews). A comprehensive search was performed of PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus, and Web of Science for articles conducted from 2010 to the end of 2019. Studies were selected based on inclusion criteria, with a special focus on studies dealing with the social determinants of physical and mental health or illness. RESULTS: Thirty-three articles were selected to extract information on the social determinants of health. After reviewing the articles, 7 main dimensions (housing, socioeconomic status of the family, nutrition, neighborhood characteristics, social support and social capital, occupational factors, and health behaviors) and 87 components were extracted as social determinants of health among slum dwellers. CONCLUSIONS: This framework could be used by planners, managers, and policy-makers when making decisions affecting the health of these settlements’ residents due to the common characteristics of slums around the world, especially in developing countries.