Title
RURAL HEALTH CARE: MALAYSIAN PHYSICIANS'
OPINIONS ABOUT TRADITIONAL MALAY MEDICINE
AND HOSPITAL ASSISTANTS - A PILOT STUDY
OPINIONS ABOUT TRADITIONAL MALAY MEDICINE
AND HOSPITAL ASSISTANTS - A PILOT STUDY
Description
Physicians play a dominant role in most health
care systems and changes in the systems depend
on their opinions and attitudes. We therefore
surveyed physicians in Malaysia regarding appropriate rural health care and traditional Malay
medicine. Special attention was drawn to traditional Malay medicine since the rural population
is largely Malay (with an estimated 80.0/0 of all
Malays being rural), whereas most (though not
all) traditional Chinese and Indian health practitioners operate in larger cities and towns.
Because Hospital Assistants (HAs), auxiliary
cosmopolitan health care workers, can be considered currently to constitute the backbone of the
rural government curative health care service
(Heggenhougen, 1978), this study also focused on
them but no special linkage, or comparison, between has or traditional practitioners is implied.
care systems and changes in the systems depend
on their opinions and attitudes. We therefore
surveyed physicians in Malaysia regarding appropriate rural health care and traditional Malay
medicine. Special attention was drawn to traditional Malay medicine since the rural population
is largely Malay (with an estimated 80.0/0 of all
Malays being rural), whereas most (though not
all) traditional Chinese and Indian health practitioners operate in larger cities and towns.
Because Hospital Assistants (HAs), auxiliary
cosmopolitan health care workers, can be considered currently to constitute the backbone of the
rural government curative health care service
(Heggenhougen, 1978), this study also focused on
them but no special linkage, or comparison, between has or traditional practitioners is implied.
Creator
H.K. HEGGENHOUGEN
Date
1980
Identifier
200828117
Publisher
Med. J. Malaysia
URL
http://www.e-mjm.org/1980/v34n3/rural-health-care.pdf