 | The Cavalier daily Tuesday, December 7, 1971 |  |
Barefoot Doctors Utilized In Rural China
By JULIAN SCHUMAN
Jiangjen, China
(LNS) Although acupuncture
is receiving a great deal of
attention throughout the
world, it is not the most
revolutionary feature of
Chinese medicine. Less known
but more remarkable, is the
phenomenon of the "barefoot
doctor."
"Barefoot doctor" is the
common term for medical
personnel working outside the
cities who have received special
medical training. It originated
during the Cultural Revolution,
when special attention was
given to medical work in rural
China. Training para-medical
workers goes back more than
ten years, but it was not until
1968 that it gained real
momentum.
Before 1949, when the
Communists came to power
China had only 12,000
scientifically trained doctors in
500 hospitals, to care for a
nation of 400 million people.
What little care was available
was open only to rich people in
cities. 70 Per cent of the
population rural China had
virtually no medical care other
than that administered by
Taoist mendicants.
Faced with an average life
expectancy of 28 years, and an
infant mortality rate of 160 to
170 per 1,000 live births in
1949, the Communists made
remarkable progress. Epidemic
disease was confronted and
reduced markedly, and the
quality of medical care greatly
improved. But after 15 years, it
was evident that the solution
three barefoot doctors for
itself.
The Jiangjen Commune
Hospital also has ten doctors
from the cities and 160 "health
workers," in addition to the
"barefoot doctors" (all of who,
wore shoes). The 40-bed
hospital contains X-ray
equipment, fluoroscope, new
dental facilities and extensive
surgical equipment, all made in
Shanghai. The trainees spend a
few months in a country or
city hospital every two years,
and, depending on their ability,
they then pursue a particular
branch -surgery, traditional
medicine and acupuncture,
internal medicine, etc.
I talked with Jin Yun-di, a
22 year-old barefoot doctor
working in a brigade clinic. In
addition to diagnosing and
treating infections of the
respiratory system and
digestive tract, she said that
part of her job is preventative
work: keeping well water
clean, giving injections and
controlling mosquitoes.
According to the guidelines,
still in effect, laid down by the
First National Health Congress
in 1950, "the main emphasis
should be placed on
preventative medicine." And it
is in the area of preventative
medicine, from teaching basic
hygienic principles to
purification of water supplies
and night soil to inoculation
against disease, that the
barefoot doctor is most
important.
With their work as the
backbone of a new medical
approach, China has succeeded
in eliminating or controlling
virtually all the scourges which
lay elsewhere.
Mao made known his
things in an address delivered
on June 26, 1965.
"Tell the Minister of Public
Health that the Ministry works
only 15 per cent of the
nation's population, and that
of the 15 per cent, mainly the
lords are served. The broad
masses of peasants do not get
medical treatment, and they
are provided neither with
doctors nor with
medicine....Medical education
must be reformed."
Now, the "barefoot doctor"
is the mainstay of China's new
health plans. Chosen by their
brigades in the villages where
they live, they receive
introductory courses of six
months in urban centers and
hospitals, and then return to
their brigades. In addition to
follow-up courses during the
slack farming months for
several years, the barefoot
doctors study with mobile
medical teams of doctors
whenever these visit the
communes.
By the summer of 1970, for
example, over 15,000
"Barefoot doctors" were
practicing in Heilungkiang
province; 47,000 in
Kwangtung, with two or three
in every brigade; and 30,000 in
Yunan.
Recently, I crossed the
Huangpu River to visit the
Jiangjen Commune near
Shanghai. There are 7,000
households there,-30,000
people divided up into 21 work
brigades. The 48 "barefoot
doctors" living there meant
that each brigade has two or
disabled and killed large
numbers of her people until
recently.
| The Cavalier daily Tuesday, December 7, 1971 | |