Title An Anthropological Perspective on Health and Health Care System of Gangaw Township in Myanmar All Authors Nyunt Nyunt Win Publication Type Local Publication Publisher (Journal name, Universities Research Journal 2015,Vol.8, No.6 issue no., page no etc.) The study area Gangaw Township is located in the Pakokku District, Magwe Region. Villagers from Gangaw Region did not used to go to medical clinics and hospitals. They had financial problem to receive medical treatments and some of them did not even consider they should have medical treatments from professionals. Some of them had no time to see the doctors. They relied for their health on traditional medicines. Now a day, the villagers rely mostly on modern medicine and herbal medicines that are available at the village's retail shops when they become to get ill. Moreover, the women, their neighbors give the advice to make offering to traditional believed spirits. In 1980, there was no practice of modern birth spacing before health program started in the study area. There was traditional way of birth spacing and terminating pregnancy about 20 years ago. Lethe is still working in the area for delivery cases but more lethe was working before 2005. It was learnt from the existing data that there were Abstract many death cases of malaria in 1998 (Tharlin Rural Health Center, RHC). This project includes testing the presence of malaria parasite in a patient, giving treatment free of charge when it is positive so that the rate reduced afterwards and it is now nearly disappeared. Nowadays prominent health problem is respiratory infection called acute respiratory tract infection (ARI). In the past, villagers usually perform some traditional practices to protect the village from any diseases and illnesses. An organizer (Nat-Sayar) was requested to do spiritual act and to recite some sacred words (Nat-Puzaw) at special places where the shrine was situated (Nat-Sin). Up to now, people are still practicing traditional way of treatment though western medical services are easily available. Peoplepractice both western type of treatment and traditional way simultaneously. Ethnographic research design was used to collect the data and purposive sampling was conducted to select study areas. Keywords herbal medicine, birth spacing, spiritual act, ethnographic research Citation Issue Date 2015 An Anthropological Perspective on Health and Health Care System of Gangaw Township in Myanmar Nyunt Nyunt Win11 Abstract The study area Gangaw Township is located in the Pakokku District, Magwe Region. Villagers from Gangaw Region did not used to go to medical clinics and hospitals. They had financial proBlem to receive medical treatments and some of them did not even consider they should have medical treatments from professionals. Some of them had no time to see the doctors. They relied for their health on traditional medicines. Now a day, the villagers rely mostly on modern medicine and herbal medicines that are availaBle at the village's retail shops when they Become to get ill. Moreover, the women, their neighBors give the advice to make offering to traditional Believed spirits. In 1980, there was no practice of modern Birth spacing Before health program started in the study area. There was traditional way of Birth spacing and terminating pregnancy aBout 20 years ago. Lethe is still working in the area for delivery cases but more lethe was working Before 2005. It was learnt from the existing data that there were many death cases of malaria in 1998 (Tharlin Rural Health Center, RHC). This project includes testing the presence of malaria parasite in a patient, giving treatment free of charge when it is positive so that the rate reduced afterwards and it is now nearly disappeared. Nowadays prominent health problem is respiratory infection called acute respiratory tract infection (ARI). In the past, villagers usually perform some traditional practices to protect the village from any diseases and illnesses. An organizer (Nat-Sayar) was requested to do spiritual act and to recite some sacred words (Nat-Puzaw) at special places where the shrine was situated (Nat-Sin). Up to now, people are still practicing traditional way of treatment though western medical services are easily available. People practice both western type of treatment and traditional way simultaneously. Ethnographic research design was used to collect the data and purposive sampling was conducted to select study areas. Key wards: herBal medicine, Birth spacing, spiritual act, ethnographic research 1.Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Mandalay 2 Universities Research Journal 2015,Vol.8, No.6 Introduction Health is influenced by physical, biological, and behavior factors. Man is a social animal. The patient is no longer considered as one who is under strict laboratory control, but an individual with personal idiosyncrasies, habits, customs and beliefs reacting on his body and mind. Health and the behavior of individuals and social groups are interrelated in complex ways. In Myanmar, the religious beliefs have led them to live in harmony with the environment. They believe that growing trees, building roads and bridges, digging wells and ponds, constructing rest houses and planting flower gardens are meritorious deads and that they will be blessed with health, beauty and long life. The study area Gangaw Township is located in the Pakokku District, Magwe Region. The construction of Tharlin Rural Health Center (RHC) was started in 1971-72 and renovation was again done in 2010. It was noted that the project for hospital construction in Kyaw Region was started in 1998 with the support of cement and corrugated sheet for roof by Ministry of Railway Transportation. The hospital is 16 bedded and one doctor has been posted since 2000. RHC in Myauk Kin Yan Village was established in 2009. In 2002 treatment for TB and malaria was started giving pills free of charge. Villagers did not used to go to medical clinics and hospitals. They had financial problem to receive medical treatments and some of them did not even consider they should have medical treatments from professionals. Some of them had no time to see the doctors. They relied for their health on traditional medicines. Now a day, the villagers rely mostly on modern medicine and herbal medicines that are available at the village's retail shops when they become to get ill. Moreover, the women, their neighbors give the advice to make offering to traditional believed spirits. Focusing on public health research for once region to another from a hamlet levels to village or town levels, activities of national level to village or town levels, activities of national level development are expected to be supportive plentifully. The objectives of this study are - to elicit how socio-economic factors are linked to health care system. - to identify the adaptability of the local people in the study area on the health care system changes. 6 Universities Research Journal 2015,Vol.8 , No.6 3 - to make recommendations as regards how the positive aspect of indigenous culture should be maintained Literature Review Demographic anthropologists examine not only the relationship between environment and population but also cultural values and practices that affect fertility, mortality, and migration rates. In others, political authorities institute programs to increase or decrease population growth. One recent area of anthropological research involves gathering data and developing hypotheses on decisions concerning the costs and benefits of having children and the consequences of these individual decisions on fertility. Anthropologists also investigate strategies of population regulation, such as birth control techniques (Scupin, Raymond, 2000). Anthropologists have been interested in population abundance as a possible cause of diversity in social organization. Julian Steward was probably the first to see a relationship between kinship and population size. They are better defined as categories combining kin relationships for several purposes, including marriage, ritual, and subsistence. In addition, sections have territorial boundaries corresponding to the boundaries of the local groups included in each section. The number of sections included in a marriage system then, is simultaneously a measure of the number of eligible mates, the number of local groups with which one has kinship connections, and the geographical extent of one's kinship connections. In addition, the mortality rates, particularly infant mortality rates, encouraged parents to have more children to ensure that some would survive into adulthood. Moreover, children were viewed as future assets who could take care of their parents in later life. In addition to the socioeconomic motives of parents, the political dynamics in agricultural civilizations encouraged high fertility rates. All of the agricultural states promoted the ideal of having large families (Harris& Ross, 1987). These societies depended on a large labour force to maintain their extensive agricultural production and military operations. Policies favoring high birthrates frequently were backed up by religious ideologies. 3 4 Universities Research Journal 2015,Vol.8, No.6 Methodology The study design of ethnographic research design, like qualitative research, depends heavily on the specific objective of this study. Purposive sampling was conducted to select study sites. The sampling process is Gangaw Township. Among them, Shon Shi, Zahaw , Taung Kin Yan, Myauk Kin Yan and