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A Diphtheria Epidemic in a Religious Sect: An Anthropological Assessment of a Public Health Intervention
Author(s) -
Princeton Joy C.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
medical anthropology quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.855
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1548-1387
pISSN - 0745-5194
DOI - 10.1525/maq.1988.2.1.02a00050
Subject(s) - sect , diphtheria , public health interventions , intervention (counseling) , public health , psychological intervention , health care , medicine , family medicine , psychology , political science , nursing , vaccination , immunology , law
In this report I evaluate the outcome of an educational program initiated by public health officials and targeted at members of a small religious sect. The program focused specifically on teaching sect members scientific facts about diphtheria and other communicable diseases. The sect does not believe in immunizations or other medical interventions, and health officials assumed that members would accept medical care for diphtheria if they understood communicable diseases from a scientific perspective. The research revealed that although members who attended educational sessions had more scientific knowledge about communicable diseases than did members who did not attend the classes, none of them intended to change religiously based beliefs or behaviors about diphtheria either now or in the future.