The first twelve months operation of a five-bed rehydration unit at Osindisweni Hospital is described and data related to admissions presented. Osindisweni hospital is situated in a rural area north of Durban and has approximately 300 general beds with 60 000 outpatient attendances per year. A profile of children admitted to this unit was obtained and results are analysed according to the objectives of this study. The main findings of the study showed that 269 children were admitted to the unit during the study year and the majority of children were black African children, below three years of age, coming from rural areas. The children presented with acute diarrhoeal dehydration mostly of mild to moderate degree and were normally managed by oral rehydration therapy. Eighty-four percent of these children were successfully managed on the rehydration unit and only 13,7% received IV fluids. The majority of children requiring transfer to the ward had either persistent dehydrating diarrhoea or other complications such as malnutrition or septicaemia. No child died on the unit and no child died as a result of dehydration but 4 children died later as inpatients on the children's ward. The mortality of children admitted to the unit was therefore 1,5%. One hundred and nine patients were followed up (41,6% of questionnaires) and of these only 76 (69,7%) actually came for review the others presenting for other illnesses or else interviewed on the wards after transfer. However, most of these children had either no or minor complaints on follow up. Seventeen and a half percent of children were below the 3rd centile for age on discharge. Children with marasmus and/or kwashiorkor were not admitted to the unit. The availability of health care was poorly assessed but indicated a general lack of facilities for the rural population served. Also it was noted that the principles of G.O.B.I. had been poorly taught at Osindisweni in the past, particularly growth . charts. Mothers received health education on the unit and were found to have a good understanding of G.O.B.I. after their stay on the unit. On the whole the unit was well accepted by the mothers. It is thought that this short-stay oral rehydration unit offers a more appropriate and more cost effective alternative to previous methods of in-patient management of children with diarrhoeal dehydration and that it offers an excellent opportunity for health education. / Thesis (MMed)-University of Natal, Durban, 1988.

The study attempts to investigate the availability, accessibility and utilization of health care services in a rural area. The study has been conducted in one of the rural areas (Ndwedwe) in the Province of KwaZulu Natal (Durban) near the town called Verulam. The Ndwedwe area consists of a population of about 170 000 and the number of households is hard even to estimate because of the geographical setting of the area. The study has been conducted at the centre of the entire area called Ndwedwe central w!:lere the Ndwedwe municipality is located. Most of the people spend most of the time in this area because it has most of the services that are needed by the community. The questionnaires administered and the interviews conducted were systematic because in all the sixteen areas, interviews were conducted (at least two ihterview encounters in one area consisting of the entire Ndwedwe area) and questionnaires were administered the same way. The findings show that the majority of people in the Ndwedwe area do not have enough health care service institutions and the very services are not equally and evenly distributed amongst areas that constitute the entire Ndwedwe area. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2002

It is well documented that rural and remote Australian residents have poorer access to medical services than their counterparts in capital cities. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 1998 there were 75.3 vocationally registered general practitioners per 100,000 population in rural and remote areas, compared with 103.0 per 100,000 in metropolitan areas. In 1998 28.7% of the Australian population lived in rural and remote areas, so a substantial proportion of the Australian population is adversely affected by the unequal distribution of general practitioners. Australian country communities highly regard the services of general practitioners and they continue to demand residential medical services. Demand is driven by need for access to health services, but also by the intimate inter-relationships between the general practice and community sustainability. For example, the general practice contributes to the viability of the local hospital which is often a major employer in the district. Consequently, many country communities strive to keep their general practice by contributing to practice infrastructure, providing governance, raising funds for medical equipment, and actively helping recruitment. / Thesis (PhDHealthSciences)--University of South Australia, 2004.

Victoria’s first Baby Health Centre opened in June 1917 in the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond. By 1950, 398 centres including fifteen mobile circuits, were available to mothers across Victoria. This study documents and analyses the combination of influences that underpinned the growth of Victoria’s Baby Health Centres. / Firstly, concern about infant mortality rates encouraged the growth of the international welfare movement. The international movement provided legitimacy for local concerns and motivated and sustained the women who acted locally. In addition, the changing role of women following the achievement of suffrage and the rise of voluntarism combined to establish a combination of professionalism and voluntarism which was socially acceptable for the women involved. Baby Health Centres were instigated through municipal councils by local groups such as the Country Womens Association, and with the centralized support of the Victorian Baby Health Centres Association and the Society for the Health of the Women and Children of Victoria. The development of two dedicated voluntary associations caused both friction and competition and a dynamic which created a model of service provision still in existence today. / Secondly, the study looks at the role of several individual women in the growth of Victoria’s centres and circuits. Both voluntary and professional workers made significant contributions to the development of a model of universal service provision for mothers and babies. / Thirdly, the study records the voices of eight mothers and two Infant Welfare sisters of the 1940s. Their comments and stories illuminate the relationship between baby health centre sisters and mothers and the mother’s willingness to incorporate the advice into daily practice. / The history of Victoria’s Baby Health Centres is one of a unique combination of professional and voluntary activism. This recipe led to the development of a well utilized statewide service which has become part of Victoria’s societal and health framework.

Thesis (Dr. P.H.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: B, page: 0967. Adviser: Sarah A. Felknor. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1945.

Thesis equivalent (M.H.A.)--University of Michigan, 1970. / "H.A. 752-3."

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1941.

Thesis (M.H.S.A.)--University of Michigan, 1976.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1941.