CHINA • MEDICAL

MEDICAL PERSPECTIVES PROJECT

The goal of the medical perspectives project is to highlight the life of medical personnel working in rural areas through interviews and surveys. We hope this sharing will lead to further knowledge and efficiency that may be incorporated in medical communities, enriching health care cooperation and awareness. Some typical questions that may be asked include:

What access do you have to medical resources?
What opportunities do you have for continuing education?
What salary do you receive?
Are you adequately supplied with necessary materials?
What types of ailments do you see on a daily basis?

Mr. Mao (Ms. Li and Ms. Yang)

Age: 23

Location: Rural village in Sichuan Province of China

Field: Physician

How many facilities does your town/ country have? There is one clinic in Ke La Xiang and one in a neighboring village hosting one doctor.

How many practicing physicians does your medical facility employ? There are three physicians. Mr. Mao has been at Ke La Xiang Hospital for two years and the other two doctors one year.

How many nurses does your medical facility employ? There is one nurse.

How many pharmacies does your town/ country have? The pharmacy is not a separate building, but part of the clinic which the physicians run. They give the medicine to the patient as needed.

Does your town have a mobil emergency medical unit? There is no mobile emergency medical unit in Ke Le Xiang or the surrounding villages.

What level of training does a physician receive? Each of the three physicians have attended university studies for four years. After these four years they were placed at Ke Le Xiang Hospital by their medical school.

What resources do you have for addressing extremely chalanging medical questions? Due to the remote, rural location of the hospital, there is limited access to support resources, but the doctors are able to talk with other physicians in the neighboring hospitals. A larger hospital in Litang, located 30km away would be able to handle more extreme medical cases.

What salary do you receive yearly? Mr. Mao is in his second year serving as a physician at Ke Le Xiang Hospital. He recieves $12,500 (USD) per year.

What types of illnesses do you treat? Mr. Mao treats mostly general health problems, incliding stomach pains, diarrhoea, flu, and upper respiratory infections. He is also involved in deliveries.

MEDICAL FACILITY RELATIONSHIPS PROJECT

The goal of our medical program is to compile contact information of local hospitals and clinics in different regions, with the objective of establishing working relationships between willing medical facilities. We hope that once a platform is established both short and long-term, cooperative relationships will begin to develop.

Ke La Xiang Hospital

Location/ Contact info: Sichuan Province, China / kazevedo@gphe.org

Number of patients seen daily: 3 on average

Number of medical personal at your facility: 3 physicians, 1 nurse

Most common illness treated: Stomach pains, diarrhoea, flu, upper respiratory infections.

Ke La Xiang Community Center

Location/ Contact info: Sichuan Province, China

Function: Supports educational and health care efforts, as well as a variety of social and communiy needs. Povides housing for educators, medical personnel and community workers. Founction halls serve as location for community meeting areas.

Area Served: The center serves a population of approximately 2000. This includes Ke La Xiang village and surrounding cillages within roughly a 16km radius.

Facilities: The center is very clean and new, built within the last 5-10 years. The majority of the facility is used primarily for residential purposes, although there exists an ornate Tibetan style function room, outfitted with hand-carved and brightly painted Tibetan chairs. However, as typical in rural China, water is gathered daily from a flowing river located behind the center and boiled before consumption. Due to the fact that there is no running water, bathroom facilites are of an outhouse style. The majority of cooking takes place atop a wood-burning stove, although we are uncertain exactly where the wood is obtained, since the entire area is located above treeline at an altitude of 4100m (13,500ft). Most food is purchased in Litang, a larger town located 30km from the center. Getting to Litang involves crossing a 4400m (14.500ft) pass, which, on October 21, 2006, was exeriencing snow squawls.

Commuity Center Personnel: A unique mixture of Tibetan and Chinese employees, most of whom were raised in the villages and towns surrounding the center. Most personnel speak both Tibetan and Mandarin. There is a great sense of community here, as all personnel live in close proximity and share most meals together.

MEDICAL SURVEY PROJECT

The access to medical care project involves creating and implementing a medical survey, detailing access to medical care in various parts of the world. Some typical questions that may be asked include:

Are you satisfied with the health care you have received in the past 12 months?
How many times have you/spouse/partner/child seen a doctor?
Over the last year did you/spouse/partner/child see a health care personnel for a check-up?
Have you postponed getting medical care in the past year?
What were you postponed for?
Over the past year how much resources have you/spouse/partner/child spent on health care (doctor visits, hospital stays, prescription drugs)?


Patient	Medical Professional