Study of disease and mortality in rural Laos

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K01992
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Area studies
• Research Institution: Nagasaki University
• Principal Investigator: NISHIMOTO Futoshi 長崎大学, 熱帯医学・グローバルヘルス研究科, 助教 (60442539)
• Research Collaborator: MOJI Kazuhiko
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 死亡 / 疾病 / 環境 / 地域史 / ラオス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We investigated the causes of 170 death cases and the treatment behaviors prior to death in rural Laos. The average age at death was 60 for males and 63 for females. Most of them had chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and more than 50% died after less than a year of treatment. Of the 170 deaths, 153 were due to some form of illness, but only 77 cases were diagnosed by a doctor (but there was no medical certificate). Most people chose herbal remedies at home after being diagnosed with cancer or other difficult-to-treat diseases at the nearest hospital. Of the 170 people, 152 died at home. This study found that non-communicable diseases become the main cause of death even in rural areas of developing countries.

Free Research Field

地域研究

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

途上国農村部は人口登録システムが未整備の地域が依然として多いため、住民がどのような死を迎えるのか、また死亡に先立ってどのような治療を受けるのかに関してまとまったデータがほとんどない。この研究ではスマートフォンのアプリで住民の死亡に関する情報を集めることにより、近年変化の著しいラオス農村部における死亡動向について一定の特徴を見出すことができた。この研究により、持続可能な開発目標SDGsの達成に向け、途上国農村部に必要な保健医療サービスを実装する上で不可欠の基礎データを入手できた。