Illness experience and coping with gynecological cancer among northeast Thai female patients.

This quantitative and qualitative study describes the illness experience and the coping mechanisms of cervical cancer patients. Interviews were performed with 208 cervical cancer patients to determine their health seeking behavior and illness beliefs. Most began their treatment at local health services and district hospitals, and sought treatment in up to four different places before coming to the University Hospital. Most of the respondents were not sure about the cause of cervical cancer, and waited to see their symptoms before seeking treatment. Most perceived their condition as at an early stage. The qualitative research consisted of interviews with 79 selected patients and identified stigmatization from family and community members, problems with sexuality, and varied belief in meaning and causation of the disease. Many of the problems faced were coped with because of support from husbands, family and the community. It is recommended that better recording of patient data would allow a better follow-up service, and improved information for relatives would help them to understand the patient's problems, with both of these contributing to a better recovery environment for patients.

Gender differences in health-related practices among university students in northeast Thailand.

The study aims at appraising gender differences in health-related practices, and health behaviour among university students of the Khon Kaen University, northeast Thailand, using a self-administered questionnaire. Of 539 university students, there were 155 males, 384 females, with mean ages 19.7 (+/- 1.2) and 19.6 (+/- 1.1) years, respectively. Persistent health problems were not significantly different between male and female students (12.9% vs. 15.4%). An average body mass index (BMI) was significantly different between male and female students (20.2 +/- 2.1 vs. 19.8 +/- 2.1). Female students reported positive health habits, in terms of drinking, smoking, sun protection, tooth brushing, fruit consumption, conscious efforts to avoid fat and cholesterol, over men, while regular exercise and safety belt use were more likely practised among male students. Using ANOVA and pairwise multiple comparisons, female students demonstrated better health eating habits than men (p = 0.0001). Coronary heart disease preventive habits between the medical and nonmedical faculty was greater for female students than for male students (p = 0.0006 for gender; p = 0.0001 for faculty). Health behaviour (combination of health eating habits, deliberate nutritional practices and coronary heart diseases preventive behaviour) was found to be better practised among women than men (p = 0.0001). These findings, therefore, should focus attention on university students as a target group for health education.

Smoking among medical students in Hong Kong.

A survey was conducted among two classes of medical students (N = 293) at the University of Hong Kong to study their smoking habits and knowledge of and attitudes toward smoking. The response rate was 97.3%. There was only one daily smoker (0.4%) and 21 occasional smokers (7.4%). While the respondents regarded health and self-discipline as the main reasons for not smoking, the social taboo against smoking among young people might have also deterred this educated elite from smoking. Many of them failed to identify the major causal role of smoking in smoking related diseases. The potential of prevention in encountering a smoking patient seen for reasons unrelated to smoking was not fully realised. There was disagreement in the banning of cigarette advertising and in increasing the price of tobacco products. In the face of aggressive marketing by the tobacco industry in the Asia-Pacific region, every undergraduate medical curriculum should include organized instruction on smoking and its control.