HEALTH PRACTICE AMONG RURAL TURKMANS

Abstract

The purpose of this study which has been conducted among 1864 heads of Turkmans households or their wives in the north-east of Iran in 1979 was to rind the type and frequency of health practices in a traditional society, and the relation between these practices and variables such as age sex, literacy use of mass media and spatial mobility. As the pilot study uncovered the scarcity of health installations such as hot bath, water supply, clinic, and hospital in the study area, therefore, two most common health practices-i.e. to take a bath and brush teeth-were studied in relation with aforementioned variables. Finding revealed that: 1 - Elders take more a bath and youths brush more their teeth, and in both groups males are at higher level than females. However, females brush their teeth more regular than males. 2- Both practices are being more performed by literates than illiterates. 3- Turkmans are in 1general fatalistic people. In this regard those who are more fatalistic usually take a bath once a year while in contrast less fatalistic individuals take it once a week. 4- In spite of very low level of health awareness among Turkmans, pains such as, headache and/or bellyache (pain in the stomach) is a kind of illness from their point of view. However, such recognition did not affect their health practices. 5- Those who had some knowledge of pathogens (microbes), or supposed the fly is a diffuse of illness, were more concerned about their hygiene and took more care of it. 6- Use of mass media (radio) was effective in introducing health practices among Turkmans. Radio listeners took a bath or brushed their teeth more regular than non-listeners.