Inégalités sociales et tuberculose en Seine Saint-Denis dans les années 1980. Une recherche pluridisciplinaire en santé publique

Abstract

ANNIE THEBAUD-MONY The primary aim of the research conducted in Seine Saint-Denis (France) in 1984- 86, was to study tuberculosis treatment, health care and welfare. The second aim was to point out the social, economic and cultural mechanisms contributing to the inequalities associated with that health problem. In this suburb of Paris, which is badly affected by deindustrialization and unemployment, tuberculosis is an indicator of social inequalities in health care. Inequalities are intricately related to various aspects of social and economic hardship ; they are also linked to social differences in treatment, planning and scheduling. These inequalities stem from four main sources : institutional characteristics, physician power, differences in access to information and the gap between theory and practice. This "action research" was done in collaboration with the public health authorities in Seine Saint-Denis.