Stories without endings: a study of illness and disability narratives in rural Laos
Date
2011
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Abstract
Public health care utilization in rural Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is very low despite indicators that place the health status of Lao people amongst the worst in the world (CIA, 2006). A national health survey conducted in 2001 found that 53% of ill people in Lao PDR did not seek help for their health problem from a public health care facility. In rural areas, only 61.7% of villages had at least one doctor or nurse available to assist with health problems (Kanashiro, 2004). Between January and June 2007, ethnographic data were collected from Vientiane district in rural Lao PDR to examine the question: "When poor Lao villagers discover themselves to be ill or disabled, what types of treatments do they seek and why?" Data derive from participant observations, informal and formal interviews and discussion groups. Analysis of the data revealed that health seeking in rural Lao PDR is complex due to three interconnected factors. These factors are: the cost of accessing public health care and the complex processes surrounding choosing health care options and paying for them; cultural interpretations of illness and disability and the influence these have on health seeking; and complex bureaucratic processes that are bewildering to poor and rural people. Reasons for low utilization of public health care in rural Lao PDR are very complex and cannot be fully understood through any one of the discussed factors. Illness and disability narratives collected during research for this study are woven into the discussion presented in this thesis. Concluding remarks include key statements that present the main findings discovered from this study and also implications for future practice.
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Bibliography: p. 270-286
Some pages are in colour.
Includes copies of ethics approval. Original copies with original Partial Copyright Licence.
Some pages are in colour.
Includes copies of ethics approval. Original copies with original Partial Copyright Licence.
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Citation
Buchner, D. (2011). Stories without endings: a study of illness and disability narratives in rural Laos (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/4043