Med Anthropol. 1994 May; 15(4): 353-75.

Acute respiratory illness: popular health culture and mother's knowledge in the Philippines.

Nichter M, Nichter M.

University of Arizona, Department of Anthropology, Tucson 85721.

Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is one of the chief causes of morbidity and mortality in the third world. This ethnographic study of ARI in the Philippines draws attention to local knowledge, sign recognition, perceptions of severity, and cultural factors influencing health care seeking. The mix of research methods used to generate data on these issues is discussed.