Life, love and death. Conversations with six elders in Kwahu-Tafo – Ghana

There is increasing recognition that socio-economic and cultural factors are prime determinants of health and health care. What factors contribute to the acceptance of community health financing or a vaccination program? What are the needs of the growing group of elderly people or psychatric patients? What social and cultural factors should be taken into account to operationalize all ambitious plans to improve reproductive health care? These are only some of the questions health professionals and health planners are confronted with. Anthropological research can be a tremendous support to health programmes, by giving insights in the perspective of recipients and providers of health programmes and health care, and also by providing managers and implementors of these programmes with mechanisms and strategies that could lead to a reorientation of health care programmes and policies towards the actual needs of the target group. The need for training in anthropology of health and health care has been expressed by social scientists involved in multi-disciplinary health research projects, and public health staff at different levels, who are involved in providing health education and primary health care and who - in implementing the health programmes - are confronted with difficulties related to the socio-cultural context in which they work. It is for this reason that the International Course in Anthropology of Health and Health Care has been developed. This course has been designed for research officers of public health institutes, coordinators of community health care programmes, project staff, responsible for the implementation of various health programmes, public health professionals, social science lecturers at universities, and junior social scientists, who intend to specialize in Anthropology of Health and Health Care. The course takes a multi-disciplinary approach and focuses on a number of important problem areas and issues, such as vaccination, reproductive health and AIDS, equity and community health financing, self-care and the use and distribution of pharmaceuticals. The manual in its earlier editions has been used since years for teaching in the field of applied medical anthropology and public health in academic institutions worldwide.