edoc

Struggling for health in the city : an anthropological inquiry of health, vulnerability and resilience in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Obrist, Brigit. (2006) Struggling for health in the city : an anthropological inquiry of health, vulnerability and resilience in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Bern.

Full text not available from this repository.

Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A3767528

Downloads: Statistics Overview

Abstract

For international experts health is a comprehensive concept closely linked to bodily, material, spiritual and social well-being. But what does health mean to women living in a poor neighborhood of an African city? Women in Dar es Salaam see health as primarily related to livelihood,hygiene and care. To stay healthy one has to fulfill basic needs for food, water and shelter, to keep the body and home clean and to take good care of the family. Since the state and newly privatized services hardly reach them and husbands often fail in their role as breadwinners, women bear a growing burden in daily health practice. They become increasingly vulnerable, unless they manage to create a new balance by improving their knowledge, becoming economically more independent and raising support within the household, in social networks and organizations. By shifting the focus from illness to local meanings of health and vulnerability, anthropology can make a unique contribution to the rapidly expanding field of urban health research. Such an actor-centered approach provides fascinating insights and fosters innovative theoretical debates for both scholars and practitioners. With regard to medical anthropology, this study opens new lines of inquiry which may eventually lead to an anthropology of health.
Faculties and Departments:09 Associated Institutions > Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) > Former Units within Swiss TPH > Medical Anthropology (Obrist)
04 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > Departement Gesellschaftswissenschaften > Ehemalige Einheiten Gesellschaftswissenschaften > Medizinethnologie (Obrist)
UniBasel Contributors:Obrist van Eeuwijk, Brigit
Item Type:Book
Book Subtype:Authored Book
Publisher:Peter Lang
ISBN:978-3-03910-673-8 ; 3-03910-673-2 ; 0-8204-7551-3
Number of Pages:359 S.
Note:Thesis: Habil.-Schrift Univ. Basel, 2000 -- Note: basiert auf der Habil.-Schrift, 2000 -- Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Authored book
Last Modified:03 Jul 2015 08:52
Deposited On:10 Oct 2014 09:19

Repository Staff Only: item control page