Doctoral Dissertation: Tuberculosis and Gender in the Philippines

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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.