Current and future issues for medical social scientists in less developed countries. (notice bilbiographique)

Gilles BIBEAU, Laval University. Québec. Canada

Abstract

This paper deals with « medical social engineering » which is now required to solve health problems in developing countries. The first section prescrits an historical background for social scientists participation in the health field and explores their involvement in classical public health approaches, such as direct interventions, epidemiology and ecology.

In a second section, more recent types of participation, associated with the health political model, are discussed in reference to community medicine, ethnomedicine and clinics.

The third section examines three promising recent developments in medical social science :

- health planning and evaluation,

- population studies

- emergence of an indigenous social science.

Finally, an interface is proposed between social and bio-medical sciences and a reconceptualization of health and disease is explored which fills the gaps between these sciences.

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35. In the only domain of medicai anthropology, many books were published in the last few years : Bauwens E. E. (Ed.) The Anthropology of Heaith. Mosby, Saint Louis, 1978 ; Foster G. M. and Anderson B. S. Medicaf Anthropology. Wiley, New York, 1978-. Landy D. (Ed.) Culture, Disease and Healing : Studies in Medicul Anthropology. Macmillan, New York, 1977 ; Logan M. and Hunt E. Reaith and the Human Condition : Perspectives on Medîcal Anthropology, Duxbury Press, North Scituate, 1978 ; McElroy A. and Towscnd K. Medical Anthropology in Ecological Perspective. Duxbury Press, North Scituate, 1979 ; Morley P. and Wallis R. (Eds Culture and Cuping. Anthropological Perspectives on Traditional Medical Beliefs and Practices. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, 1978 ; Zimmerman M. foundations of Medical Anthropology. Hoit, Rinchart and Winston, New York, 1980.

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45. The field of evaluation rescarch has grown up and achieved maturity in the last years. One good adapted evaluation document for use in social and health project assessment in developing countries is now available : Freeman H. E., Rossi P. H. and Wright S. R. Doing Eraluation. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, 1980.

46. Such a work has been donc recently by Bossert T. (Ed.) Selected Issues in Health Policies in Africa and Latin America. Special Issue in Soc. Sci. Med. 13C 2.1979.

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51. Ibid., p. B.

52. I oppose this new « medical anthropology to the old*’. associated with Foster, Barnett, Clark and von Mering.

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54. Ibid., p. 212.

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59. Ibid, 174-5.

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61. Engel G. L The need for a new medical model : a challenge for biomedicine. Science 194, 4286, 1977.

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