Affiliations 

  • 1 Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 4 Vector Borne Disease Sector, Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health , 62250 Putrajaya, Malaysia
Trop Biomed, 2023 Mar 01;40(1):65-75.
PMID: 37356005 DOI: 10.47665/tb.40.1.013

Abstract

Poverty, as proven by several studies, is a driving force behind poor health and hygiene practices. This review attempts to outline common communicable and non-communicable diseases that disproportionately affect Malaysia's 2.91 million low-income households. The current study also looks into the government's housing and healthcare programmes for this demographic to improve their health and well-being. The initial examination yielded incredibly little research on this marginalised community, with event reporting typically generalised to the Malaysian community as a whole rather than analysing disease incidences based on household income, which would better reflect povertydriven diseases. As a result, there is an acute need for more accurate information on the epidemiology of diseases among the poor in order to address this public health issue and provide conclusions that can drive policy designs.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.