Book

Pills against poverty: a study of the introduction of western medicine in a Tamil village

Studentlitt (23)Published In 1975 • Pages: 232

By: Djurfeldt, Göran, Lindberg, Staffan.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This document is a critical case-study of health and health policies in Thaiyur, a Tamil village. Although the data are discussed within an explicitly Marxist framework, the authors have compiled a highly detailed and comprehensive report. After presenting a brief culture summary of Thaiyur and the morbidity statistics that they collected for the village, they proceed to relate the incidence and cause of disease to the 'poverty panorama' - a configuration of socio-economic factors which they claim lie at the root of the health problems in the village. They then define two discrete systems of medical technology operating within the village, one 'indigenous' and the other 'allopathic' (or modern Western), and examine the functions and operations of each. The national family planning program is also considered, with respect to its goals, its efficacy in Thaiyur, and its (generally negative) perception by the villagers.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Hospitals and clinics
External relations
Theory of disease
Medical therapy
General character of religion
Magical and mental therapy
Population policy
Conception
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Tamil
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2009
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Asia
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
South Asia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Social Scientist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
David Sherwood
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1969-1972
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1969-1972
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Chingleput District, Thaiyur Panchayat, Tamil Nadu, India
NotesAdditional notes
By Goran Djurfeldt and Staffan Lindberg
Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-232)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
76677160
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Tamil (Indic people)