Prabda Praphasiri.. Food, vulnerability and deafness illness experience of villagers in a North-Eastern province of Thailand. Doctoral Degree(Medical and Health Social Sciences). Mahidol University. Mahidol University Library and Knowledge Center. : Mahidol University, 2015.
Food, vulnerability and deafness illness experience of villagers in a North-Eastern province of Thailand
Abstract:
Streptococcus suis causes a zoonotic disease in humans that can lead to the complications of permanent hearing loss and even death. This research aims to determine the social and cultural vulnerabilities related to the disease and also study the illness experience of villagers in one sub-district of a north-eastern province of Thailand. This ethnographic study was carried out between August 2014 and June 2015. Out of nine infected villagers, aged in the range of 34-69 years, six were male. The patients presented themselves to the hospital with symptoms of meningitis (7), septicaemia (1), and arthritis (1). Eight of them had completed primary school. Farming was their main profession, and all of them identified themselves as poor. A close proximity of the patients with pig-rearing, killing, and preparing food with bare hands, and eating raw or undercooked pork, was reported. A major role in the disease process was seen to be played by food beliefs, which were found to link to gender and social status. The multiple roles of women in the forms of mother, wife, and caretaker increased their vulnerability to this disease. On the other hand, men based their lives on the ideals of masculinity, which accounted for their carelessness and sexuality. Alcohol drinking gave an outlet for fun and friendship, to display bold, courageous behaviour and also to relieve themselves from their daily struggles, for both men and women. Some of these patients were stigmatised as deaf while some lost their jobs. These patients gave meanings to the disease such as karma and because I am poor. These findings indicate that culture can mask the truth, and vulnerability increases the risk of the disease that results in suffering which, in turn, increases vulnerability again.
Mahidol University. Mahidol University Library and Knowledge Center