This book describes how very poor communities are often not developed due to the fact that interventions are not taking place in "communities" or "areas" where people suffer most from the effects of poverty. It is a thought provoking book for rural development planners and CBR workers
Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Profile of Commonwealth, 1992 3. Labor as an asset 4. Infrastructure as an asset 5. Housing as an asset 6. Household relations as an asset 7. Intrahousehold inequalities 8. Social capital as an asset 9. Conclusions and implications for future action
Reported is the spatial variation of leprosy in an urban area of Brazil and its correlation with socioeconomic indicators. From November 1991 to October 1992 a total of 752 newly diagnosed leprosy patients who were attending all outpatient clinics in Golania city, central Brazil, were indentified. A database of leprosy cases was set up linking patients' addresses to 64 urban districts. Leprosy cases were detected in 86 of the districts and three risk strata were identified. The highest risk area for leprosy was in the outskirts of the city and detection rates increased on moving from more developed to poorer areas. The risk of detecting leprosy cases was 5.3-fold greater (95CL: 3.8-7.4) in the outskirst of the town than in the central zone.
Discussed are the methodological issues related to leprosy case ascertainment, completeness and reliability of information, and the interpretation of the spatial distribution of leprosy per unti area. High lighted also are the lack of deprosy control activities in primary health care units and the usefulness of geographical analysis in planning health services.
