Image credit: Patthanan Thavethanutthanawin
The Antibiotics and Activity Spaces project is a survey of 4,800 villagers in Chiang Rai (Thailand) and Salavan (Lao PDR) to better understand (1) how people access healthcare and what actually counts as 'problematic' antibiotic use, (2) whether antibiotic-related information from educational activities spreads or simply evaporates in village community networks, and (3) whether there are simple 'early warning' indicators (eg specific symptoms) to detect whether people are likely to have 'problematic' antibiotic use. The project is hosted by Oxford's Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health.
Survey researchers Nutcha (Ern) Charoenboon, Marco J Haenssgen, Kanokporn (Joobjang) Wibunjak, Patthanan (Mind) Thavethanutthanawin, and Penporn (Yok) Warapikuptanun recently hosted a photography exhibition in Bangkok on rare and vivid narratives of healing in Northern Thailand. In today’s Science Blog the researchers reflect on these stories and the relationship between traditional medicine, modernity, and current global health crises.