The Church Medical Service and the Government Prevention Program: Blackfoot Disease in Post-war Taiwan
| Autor: | Bor-huei Tsai, 蔡博輝 |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2010 |
| Druh dokumentu: | 學位論文 ; thesis |
| Popis: | 98 Blackfoot disease, present for almost 100 years, is a specific endemic disease in Taiwan. The first case was found in 1921 while Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule. Blackfoot disease was only found in fishing villages in southwest Taiwan, and it did not make any threat to the public in other areas. Due to the isolated areas of the disease, unclear causes, limited cases, and slow rate of proliferation, the Japanese authorities did not pay close attention to the disease. After the war, with population growth and groundwater construction, many artesian wells with high amounts of arsenic were excavated. Residents in the blackfoot disease hyperendemic areas drank water with arsenic day by day and the poisonous substance accumulated. Finally, in a period of less than 10 years, blackfoot disease started to spread in 1950 when uncontrolled epidemics were afflicting Taiwan. There was an outbreak of blackfoot disease in the downstream plain area of Ba-Zhang Creek. The poor patients suffered from the disease but they did not know how to help themselves. In 1955, all Fu-rong villagers suffered from arsenic poisoning and this event shocked the public. The government had a forced displacement policy put into effect to prevent the disease, but blackfoot disease spread rapidly. After that, the force of disease prevention by the church and the government transformed into a combined and focused effort, fighting blackfoot disease. In 1960, Lillian R. Dickson established Pak-Mng Mercy’s Door Free Clinic, which was the first Blackfoot Disease Clinic. Not until the Blackfoot Disease Prevention and Control Center was built by the government in 1977 did the church gradually phase out the involvement of providing medical treatment for blackfoot disease, finally stopping in 1984 after 24 years of service. In 1970, the government promulgated “Blackfoot Disease Prevention and Control Program of Taiwan Province”, which was the first legal base and set up a government-led prevention system. They put great emphasis on improving the water quality of the blackfoot disease hyperendemic areas. With respect for caring the patients, the government arranged the budget to help Beimen Blackfoot Disease Free Clinic at the initial stage, and incorporated church medical systems into the prevention system. Then, the government built the Blackfoot Disease Prevention and Control Center to house and treat all patients together. The government executed the prevention plan in five stages for 24 years, ending with the implementation of National Health Insurance in 1995. In a word, both the church medical service and the government prevention program wrote the blackfoot disease history about the prevalence of post-war blackfoot disease. This thesis delved deep into the time frame, spanning the post-war period and the implementation of National Health Insurance, during which blackfoot disease was considered a severe disease. It also discussed the Mustard Seed Church medical service and the government prevention program and tried to make people aware of both of them to construct the history of blackfoot disease in Taiwan. |
| Databáze: | Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations |
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