Prevalence of undesirable habits and morbidities among houseless people of Kanpur city, Uttar Pradesh

The present research work examines the prevalence of undesirable habits and morbidities among houseless population in Kanpur city. The study is based on primary sources of data generated through a comprehensive field survey in the city carried out in 2012. The study reveals that the majority of the houseless population are addicted; out of the total selected houseless population about ninety per cent houseless population has been reported as the victim of undesirable habits of tobacco chewing, smoking, liquor drinking, addiction to drugs, etc. Accordingly, more than half houseless of the respondents prostrated to various kinds of diseases; among the morbid houseless respondents, the five diseases i.e. asthma, skin infestation, foot problems, back ache and gastroenteritis are most commonly prevalent among one-fourth houseless persons, while only forty per cent houseless people are observed to be physically fit.