Geographia medica最新文献

This short paper has reported on the health care provision and access opportunity in Madras city, India, using three city areas as sample areas. Maps have indicated that a general concentration of both GP and specialist practices, although access opportunities in the peripheries do not point up to paucity of services. The study is a report on private practices that is an important element in the health services provision.

Existing research that examines the general problem of health facility use often lacks sound theoretical specification. This problem is partly a function of conceptual difficulties in explaining health seeking behaviour and an absence of appropriate data with which to calibrate modelling endeavours. These problems are addressed in this paper where a logit model of health seeking behaviour and health facility use derived from discrete choice theory is presented. The structure of the model is general but in this case it is developed in the context of mental health facility use. A data set from Auckland, New Zealand is utilized to apply the modelling ideas presented. Results show that discrete choice theory can be adapted to the problem of mental health facility usage under conditions where the health care system offers real choice at any given level of care. In this case real choice implies a well-developed array of alternative facilities to choose from.

The study examines the practice of Unani traditional medicine in India. The case study is based on the Unani Clinic situated in Aligarh Town; patients, practitioner of Unani medicine, and para-medical staff were interviewed about their patterns of patients' health behaviour, of particular interest was the utilization of Unani medical facilities by people of different age groups and belonging to different socio-economic strata. Observations are made regarding effectiveness of the Unani medical system.

In Tamil Nadu, indigenous Siddha medicine (SM) is officially recognized and extensively used. Yet very little research information or published material is available on the extent of utilization behaviour of Siddha medicine in urban settings. This study examines the current patterns of utilization and consumer behavioural characteristics of SM through a field-based questionnaire survey of a sample of 300 patients attending 15 Siddha clinics in Salem, Tamil Nadu. Four areas were investigated: Socio-economic characteristics of the users; utilization behaviour pattern of patients; reasons for choice of Siddha therapy; opinions, attitudes, perception and satisfaction of users regarding Siddha therapy. The survey points out there is an inverse relationship between the number of patients using SM and income, education and distance travelled. Various factors were cited in choosing SM-such as, effectiveness of treatment, social influences of a relative or friend. Survey indicates that both modern medicine and SM seem to act as supporting rather than as competitive systems in a setting like Salem. People tend to seek both the system in search of a permanent cure.

Massive use of pesticides in agriculture poses risks for the environment and for human health. Pesticides are toxic substances and the suggestion that some may be carcinogenic has been the source of much controversy. In this article we focus on the relation between the use of pesticides in agriculture and the incidence of cancers of the lymphatic tissues, the brain, and of leukemia in the rural farm population in 34 major drainage basins in the province of Quebec (Canada) for the period 1982-1983. The basins were grouped into three categories (low, intermediate and high exposure) based upon the amount of pesticide sold. The study of highly exposed basins shows an excessive incidence of leukemia (SMR = 1.69, p less than or equal to 0.05) for men in rural farm areas in the Yamaska river basin. This specific group's relative risk (RR) of incidence as compared to the urban male population is 2.27 (p less than or equal to 0.05). The RR is also high and statistically significant among the men in municipalities that draw their drinking water from wells (RR = 2.07, p less than or equal to 0.05) as compared to those where water is drawn from rivers. Most municipalities using wells are in the rural farm areas. These results suggest that there may be a relationship between leukemia and the use of pesticides in this drainage basin, and this hypothesis could be verified at the individual level in epidemiological studies.