Staples James
Social Anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
Med Anthropol. 2004 Jan-Mar;23(1):69-88. doi: 10.1080/01459740490276075.
The national and international agencies working to eliminate leprosy are also dominant in setting the boundaries of official discourse on the issue. Within these boundaries the disease is commonly represented as a medical problem with negative social consequences, and it is believed that both problem and consequences will be resolved if leprosy is eliminated and its victims treated and (if necessary) reintegrated within their social groups. For those affected by leprosy the issues are frequently different, elimination in some respects representing a problem as much as a solution. Against this background, which I describe with reference to a group of leprosy-affected people in South India and their position vis- -vis leprosy organizations, I explore some of the contexts in which leprosy patients actively manage their own situations, often in defiance of prevailing development orthodoxies. I conclude that closer observation and analysis of the strategies patients use to manage their disease status have important policy implications.
致力于消除麻风病的国家和国际机构在界定该问题的官方话语边界方面也占据主导地位。在这些边界范围内，这种疾病通常被视为一个会产生负面社会后果的医学问题，并且人们认为，如果消除了麻风病，对其受害者进行治疗并（如有必要）使其重新融入社会群体，那么问题及其后果都将得到解决。对于那些受麻风病影响的人来说，情况往往有所不同，在某些方面，消除麻风病既是一种解决方案，也代表着一个问题。在此背景下，我以印度南部一群受麻风病影响的人和他们相对于麻风病组织的立场为例，探讨了麻风病患者积极应对自身状况的一些背景情况，他们常常不顾主流发展正统观念。我的结论是，更密切地观察和分析患者用于管理自身疾病状况的策略具有重要的政策意义。
