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Biomedical subjects

A K Neumann

Publications and source records attributed to A K Neumann.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Factors associated with success among southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians.

Researchers in applied social science are seeking ways of approaching the facilitation of community-based development at the grass-roots level. Much research to date has focused on negative social aspects in communities, such as substance abuse and high numbers of school drop-outs. An innovative approach was developed that involved looking instead at successful individuals in communities. Individuals identified as successful were interviewed about the factors they associated with their own success. The experience of supportive parenting during their childhoods and moderation in alcohol and other substance use as adults were strongly correlated with success in life. The interview process provided an effective springboard for discussions and the development of intervention strategies at the community level.

Achievement↗
PubMed1979

Self-care in rural areas of India and Nepal.

Self-care during illness and pregnancies by individuals and their families is a ubiquitous and integral part of societies throughout the world. This paper reports findings about self-care practices identified during four studies carried out over a ten-year period involving about 14,000 interviews in 7,400 households comprising over 48,000 people in three Indian states and three districts of Nepal. The proportion of ill individuals using self-care over a two-week period in the different study areas ranged from 19 to 42 percent. This involved 5 to 9 percent of the total population in self-care activities during these two weeks. Much larger differences were found between India and Nepal in the use of self-care during pregnancies. Self-care or care by relatives and friends was the predominant source of maternity care in Nepal, including deliveries, while Indian maternal care was dominated by traditional birth attendants. Comparisons also were made between self-care and the use of professional healers or health care services during the same time period. Differences in the use of self-care by age, sex, caste, access to government or special project services, type of illness, and duration and severity of illness have also been shown. The need for similar, better standardized surveys in combination with intensive studies examining the details and rationale behind self-care practices in different societies has been stressed as an essential step in developing programs to expand or modify self-care practices of individuals and their families.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1977

The training of traditional birth attendants in Ghana: experience of the Danfa Rural Health Project.

Three quarters of deliveries in Ghana are still attended by untrained personnel, including traditional birth attendants (TBA's), and maternal mortality remains high. The Ministry of Health is exploring ways of improving this situation. Recently, training traditional birth attendants to improve maternal and child health practices and promote family planning has been considered. Most TBA's in rural Ghana are elderly illiterate farmers. The Danfa Project has identified and trained 57 of these TBA's with the objective of developing a programme that might be replicated elsewhere in the country. This paper describes the design of the programme and problems encountered and makes recommendations to others who may be considering similar programmes in other countries.

Female↗
PubMed1976

A household morbidity survey in rural Africa.

A household morbidity interview survey with 2,000 randomly selected households (14,729 people) in rural Ghana is reported for a two-week recall period; 20-8 percent of people reported some illness, injury or disability. This prevalence is lower than reported during surveys in Columbia, USA, Britain and Australia. Adults averaged 0-5 days lost from work, which results in an estimated annual work loss of 13-4 days. The reported illness varied markedly with age, with a peak in middle-aged adults and females in their reproductive years. The use of clinic services varied with age (they were sought particularly for pre-school children), type of condition, and accessibility. The use of drug sellers was surprisingly high, about half that of clinic attendance, and increased in those geographical areas where clinics were least accessible.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Health information system installation: principles and problems.

Many studies have been done to identify health problems and practices and to obtain knowledge of the characteristics of the population. Often specific data desired by the investigators are not available at the time of final analysis. This paper emphasizes the importance of planning and designing the system for recording and processing information together with the planning and development of the program or project. Principles that were applied and problems that occurred in demonstration projects in developed and less developed countries are described. Some examples of applications to improve the health services for the rural dewellers in a less developed country are illustrated. The methodology evolved has broad application and may be useful to others who have needs for data on an ambulatory population.

Community Health Services↗
PubMed1976

Comparison of morbidity interviews with a health examination survey in rural Africa.

This paper describes a study of the Danfa Comprehensive Rural Health and Family Planning Project, Ghana. The report compares information obtained from morbidity interviews with information obtained during subsequent health examinations. One to 4 days prior to examination by a team of physicians, 3,653 rural Ghanaians were interviewed by a team of auxiliary workers. Information obtained from the interview survey was noticeably different from examination diagnoses. Significant health problems such as malaria, intestinal parasites and diarrhea, as well as minor and chronic conditions were seriously under-reported. Interview findings were more accurate for children, women in the reproductive age group, and in cases in which the disease caused considerable discomfort or diability. Although individual examination was eight times as costly as an interview, small scale rural health examination surveys of a representative sample of the population are recommended to provide accurate morbidity information for health planners.

Adolescent↗