Dying in the shadows of the lowlands: Illuminating the Lao malaria crisis through leadership and imagination
Author(s):
Ednacot, Edgar M.
Format:
Thesis
Degree granted:
Ed.D.
Publisher:
Ann Arbor : University of San Francisco, 2009.
Pages:
140
Language:
English
Abstract:
Nearly 300,000 cases of malaria occur annually in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Current public health efforts by international development agencies and the Lao People's Democratic Republic have seen minimal progress in addressing the growing malaria epidemic in Laos. This study examines both malaria prevention initiatives and governmental resettlement policy in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The two initiatives are linked because village relocation has led to malaria outbreaks. The research protocol was guided by the critical hermeneutic tradition as described by Herda (1999). The research categories used to guide this research approach included Hans-George Gadamer's ideology of health (1996) and Paul Ricoeur's theorization of memory, forgiveness, and imagination (1996, 2004). The conversation narratives, text analysis and findings of the research show that a fundamental reorientation of malaria control and resettlement initiatives in Laos may be necessary to overcome the limitations which persist in current efforts. The findings of the research revealed the need for public health efforts by the Lao government, international development organizations and others working on malaria control to focus on broader meanings of health, imagination, forgiveness and incorporating tradition into public health practice. This research project has significant and direct implications for leadership, program and policy development and evaluation. These practical implications for international public health programs and rural development policies include (1) the importance of linking program and policy planning with shared narratives, (2) complementing program evaluation with narrative assessment and (3) discovering opportunities for refiguring leadership through village narratives.