Doctoral Dissertation: Tuberculosis and Gender in the Philippines

菲律宾是世界上结核病死亡率和发病率最高的国家之一。最近的研究表明，菲律宾妇女感染艾滋病毒的频率较低，但死亡率高于男子。本论文研究项目由南卫理公会大学（Southern Methodist University）的一名文化人类学研究生进行，将解决两个主要问题：患者及其家属如何看待和理解结核病？性别如何影响治疗决策和结果？该项目分为三个阶段：描述性、工具开发和解释性。第一阶段包括采访80个人，了解他们对包括结核病在内的疾病的看法、知识和态度。方法将包括半结构化访谈，真假问题和成堆的分类练习。在第二阶段，将编制一份调查表，供项目最后阶段使用。III期的样本量为280名男性和女性结核病患者。这一阶段将确定性别和提供保健服务的地点类型（公共或私人）如何与与治疗有关的若干因素相关联。这些因素包括最初治疗的时间、所接触的第一种保健地点、停止治疗的次数、是否有其他家庭成员患有结核病等。除了为一名有前途的女科学家提供博士培训外，这项研究将有助于我们了解东南亚的性别互补和平等，因为它与健康和保健决策有关。它还将协助卫生保健政策制定者制定专门针对女性和男性需求的方案。

The Philippines has one of the highest tuberculosis mortality and morbidity rates in the world. Recent research suggests that Filipino women are infected less often but experience more mortality than do men. This dissertation research project, conducted by a graduate student in cultural anthropology at Southern Methodist University, will address two main issues: How do patients and their families perceive and understand tuberculosis? and How does gender influence treatment decision making and outcome? The project is divided into three phases: descriptive, instrument development, and explanatory. Phase I involves interviews 80 individuals regarding their perceptions, knowledge and attitudes about illnesses, including tuberculosis. Methods will include semi-structured interviews, true/false questions, and pile sorting exercises. In Phase II, a questionnaire will be developed for use in the final phase of the project. The sample size for Phase III is 280 male and female TB patients. This phase will determine how gender and the type of health care delivery site (public or private) are correlated with a number of factors associated with treatment. These factors include time of initial treatment, first type of health care delivery site approached, number of times treatment was stopped, presence of another family member with tuberculosis, etc. In addition to providing doctoral training for a promising woman scientist, this study will contribute to our understanding of gender complementarity and equality in Southeast Asia as it relates to health and health care decision making. It will also assist health care policy makers in developing programs that would specifically address the needs of women and men.