Exploring public health challenges in slums using a bibliometric insight from a global and Indian perspective

Abstract

Informal urbanization has emerged as a defining sustainability challenge of the twenty-first century and a systemic barrier to the United Nations 2030 Agenda, as the proliferation of slums undermines progress across interconnected social, economic, environmental, and health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Slums are characterised by overcrowding, inadequate sanitation, limited access to clean water, and poor healthcare infrastructure, slums pose significant risks to residents’ health and well-being. This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis mapping the scientific landscape of sustainability literature on slums through a public health lens, with a comparative emphasis on Indian and global perspectives. It aims to identify dominant themes, research patterns, key contributors, and collaboration networks shaping scholarship on slums, vulnerability, and public health. Using a search query combining the keywords “slums,” “vulnerability,” “public health,” and “India,” 949 global and 289 Indian publications spanning 1993 to May 2025 were extracted from the Scopus database. Keywords co-occurrence, publication trends, and country-level collaborations were analysed using VOSviewer. The findings reveal that global literature has shifted from foundational concerns such as WASH and communicable diseases towards emerging themes including mental health, environmental exposures, and health equity. In contrast, Indian research remains concentrated on maternal and child health, infectious diseases, and WASH, with limited attention to mental health, air pollution, and climate change impacts. This comparative analysis underscores the need to diversify India’s research agenda to advance SDG 3, SDG 6, and SDG 11. By reading the slum–health evidence base through a sustainability lens, the study repositions informal settlements as central to realising the 2030 Agenda.