This paper deals with the question of beauty and health in women. It discusses changing definitions of beauty as a result of influences from the entertainment, beauty and health product industries. Advertisements are seen to be major players in defining beauty through promotion of cosmetic, skin, hair and slimming products. Concerns relating to beauty become inculcated in girls through the process of socialisation as they mature into womanhood. The media plays a significant role in portraying the meaning of beauty through its representation of women. These influences largely influence and alter women's perceptions of their body image and in trying to meet the goals of beauty as represented by the media. This may result in dissatisfaction with their body image. Advertisements can encourage women to indulge in smoking as a fashionable trend or opt for plastic surgery in attempts to acquire beauty. This paper concludes with implications of the issues relating to changing perceptions of beauty and suggests recommendations.
A study was carried out to identify some of the cultural factors in the epidemiology of filariasis in an endemic community in Malaysia. The viewpoint of the community, data an responses on knowledge of illness and filariasis, host related factors, health examination, vector study were analysed and discussed. The observations noted on cultural factors were: Occupational pattern: Different agricultural occupations seemed to related to transmission in terms of body exposure. Activities not related to production of crops: Play groups in late afternoon, bathing of household members near and after sunset, congregations at prayer houses very much exposed the population to mosquito bites in different degree in terms of length of time spent outside the house. Knowledge of filariasis: Filariasis was understood in terms of elephantiasis, the chronic stage of the disease. Other signs of disease-adenolymphangitis, red lines running down one or both legs and abscess were generally recognized but not often annonated with specific disease. Attitude toward disease: Filariasis was not seen as a health problem and the idea of filarial worms was still hard to believe. Knowledge on disease causation: Biological causes were generally recognized, though the idea of bacteria was not widespread.
A study to identify the knowledge of infected and uninfected respondents on filariasis and epidemiologic factors in one endemic community in Malaysia to determine their role in the transmission and control of filariasis was carried out. The data were collected by non-participant observations and interviews using semi-structured schedules. The majority of respondents in both groups had knowledge of filariasis. There was no marked difference between male and female respondents, and similarly, there was fair distributions of knowledgeable respondents with and without some years of schooling. On filarial transmission, 9.2% of the infected said that filariasis was contacted through mosquito bites, while among the uninfected it was 7.4%. Within the infected, 14.8% thought that filarial worms entered the human body through the consumption of unhygenically prepared foods and drinks while, among the uninfected it was 20.4%. Both groups were aware of the presence of mosquitoes in their village. However, the majority did not associate this factor with host's susceptibility to filarial infections. Rather, they were of the opinion that personal hygiene and proper meals had something to do with filariasis. The findings showed there was general awareness of filariasis in the community which might indicate that the health campaigns had reached various levels of the population. Yet, they still lacked knowledge on disease transmission. Also, they did not make direct association between environment and exposure to mosquitoes bites though they were aware of their presence but which they regarded as not directly harmful to their health.
The Primary Health Care approach in Malaysia was first tried out in Sarawak, East Malaysia in 1982. In 1984, the Vector Borne Disease Control Program, Kelantan decided to adopt the Primary Health Care approach as an additional strategy in its effort to control malaria in the state, which then experienced an increase in malaria cases. Much effort was directed at creating the awareness and stimulating the interest of health staff and communities to adopt the strategy. Kelantan was made the model state. The paper gives an outline of the process involved and some characteristics of PHC workers. A study was carried out among health workers, community members and health staff on their knowledge and involvement in PHC in three states, including Kelantan. In view of the overall success of this approach, and the weaknesses which have been identified possible solutions have been suggested and should be acted upon.
Community-based health promotion requires effective participation and partnership of diverse and numerous stakeholders from community as well as external professional organizations. Although effective partnership of stakeholders is often the key for success of health promotion practice and research, but this has proved to be a complex and challenging task. This study is an exploratory study to identify professional stakeholder's perspectives and experiences toward the partner's engagement challenges in community-based participatory research conducted in Population Research Centers in Iran. A qualitative study design with in-depth semi-structured interviews as data collection method was chosen. Using purposeful sampling technique, policy-makers and managers (mainly academics) involved in community-based participatory research in these centers were invited to be interviewed. Data were collected to the point where no new information was forthcoming. All interviews were taped and transcribed. To provide answers for research questions, qualitative content analysis was employed to extract emerging main themes from numerous cods. Findings were categorized in three main themes as Partnership's relationship and trust issues, Partnership's individual issues and Partnership's system issues. Although community-based participatory research in Iran benefits from more than a decade history and some physical infrastructures, but it seems that public health experts and researchers and other partner organizations are lagging behind in terms of capacities and competencies required to effectively utilize the available structure and opportunities. Hence, capacity development, both among professional partners and community may be the main way forward to tackling the future challenges for strengthening community actions but should include both levels of individuals and systems.