Death is the Only Option for Us! Unveiling Health and Healthcare Crises Among Slum Dwellers in Guwahati Metropolitan City,India

Abstract

The ever-growing issues and challenges faced by people living in slum areas are now gaining attention from policymakers and scholars across disciplines. This article investigates how slum dwellers in the Guwahati metropolitan city in India suffer from healthcare vulnerabilities in their everyday lives. To achieve this, we employed “narrative inquiry” as a method and found that slum dwellers in Guwahati experience layers of healthcare vulnerabilities, primarily due to their poor economic conditions, occupational hazards, low levels of education, and marginalized social backgrounds. Moreover, the systemic, infrastructural, and social inequities that exist within the public healthcare system further exacerbate their health issues. Based on the field insights, we argue that understanding the ingrained healthcare vulnerabilities, inequities, and disparities that impoverished slum dwellers experience within the urban landscape is a prerequisite to addressing their health and healthcare vulnerabilities. We conclude the article by arguing that health and healthcare equities among slum dwellers are not merely an elusive goal but a tangible reality that needs to be ensured with a holistic approach, which also includes empathetic and ethical behavior from healthcare professionals towards marginalized sections of society.