Santé (Montrouge, France)
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Santé (Montrouge, France) · May 1996
[An approach to food consumption in an urban environment. The case of west Africa].
West Africa has undergone rapid economic and political changes during the last 20 years. After the failure of economic policies implemented since independence, programs for structural adjustment have strongly influenced the economy. Food problems affect each country differently. ⋯ Operationally, a global and dynamic approach to food styles must consider urban heterogeneity and diversity of situations. For example, food consumption by people maintaining their in-home food habits shows the pertinence of studies focusing on individuals. Therefore, the food course concept may be a useful method for the study of food consumption.
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Drugs are generally considered as consumer goods which serve to protect, maintain and restore health. In recent years, the proportion of national expenditure devoted to health has increased in all developing countries. ⋯ This situation requires establishing financing schemes for drug supplies, with community involvement and participation of the population. However, such schemes can result in limited access and inequity.
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Santé (Montrouge, France) · Jan 1996
[Smoking among medical students in Tunisia: trends in behavior and attitudes].
We report a cross sectional survey to analyze the effects of medical training on the smoking habits of Tunisian medical students, and their attitudes and knowledge about smoking. Two groups of medical students were studied. One group was 257 first year students at the Medical Faculties of Tunis and Sfax, in 1987, the other 211 final year students at the same Faculties in 1994 and who had been in the first year in 1987. ⋯ This work shows that, like in Africa, Asia and Europe, Tunisian medical students have an unsatisfactory knowledge of tobacco and its effects. There were no substantial changes in the students' knowledge of, or attitude to, smoking between the first and final year of training. Simply stimulating the interest of these future doctors in the problem of smoking is insufficient.
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Malaria remains one of the major public health problems in Madagascar. For malaria, most of the eco-epidemiological facies of the African continent are found on this large island because of its geo-climatic diversity. These include the subequatorial facies on the east coast, the tropical facies on the west coast, the high-altitude tropical facies in the center and the subdesert facies in the south. ⋯ The current reorganization of the health service in Madagascar constitutes a favorable opportunity to establish a new approach for the fight against malaria. This is geared towards the participation of the decentralized health structures and the contribution of the community in the conception and the achievement of their respective strategies for the fight, supported by the central Service of the Fight Against Malaria. This new decentralized approach seems more appropriate to respond to the demands of the specific and selective strategies of the fight, better adapted to the different facies described above, and to render the National Program of the Fight Against Malaria more efficacious.
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Santé (Montrouge, France) · Nov 1994
[Epidemiological surveillance and obstetrical dystocias surgery in Senegal].
Maternal morbidity and mortality remain major problems of public health in developing countries. Having long been neglected, maternal health is now being included among the priorities of a large number of countries. The rate of maternal mortality in Senegal is 850 per 100,000 live births, among the highest in the world. ⋯ Perinatal prognosis was also poor, with a mortality rate of approximately 30%. There are only 18 reference obstetrics units functioning, and they give a very uneven coverage of the country. These finding have led to new guidelines to improve the quality and cover of maternal care over the coming years.