Title: Quality of care for women in northeast Thailand: intersections of class, gender, and ethnicity.
Abstract: Based upon ethnographic fieldwork in a rural village community in Northeast Thailand, this article explores issues relating to the quality of care received in reproductive health services from the perspective of village women. Inequalities of power fundamental to gender, class, and ethnic relations are described as elements affecting the service-giving process. The subordinate position of village women is subtly reinforced in the spatial organization, style of communication, and management of the services.There is a growing recognition of the need for reproductive health programs to be more sensitive to the quality of services from the user perspective as well as the service provider perspective. The author explores issues relating to the quality of care received in reproductive health services from the perspective of the village woman. The paper is based upon 18 months of ethnographic research on women's health in a rural village community in northeast Thailand. Inequalities of power fundamental to gender, class, and ethnic relations are described as elements which affect the service-giving process. The subordinate position of village women is subtly reinforced in the spatial organization, style of communication, and the management of services. Sections discuss class and ethnicity in northeast Thailand, relations between health staff and villagers, clients' ethnic and class status, the organization of services, and the effects of management and operational constraints.
Publication Year: 1996
Publication Date: 1996-09-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['pubmed']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 12
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