Bull World Health Organ. 1982;60(4):521-33.
The main objective of the WHO programme on acute respiratory infections (ARI) is the development, through epidemiological and operational research, of standard plans of patient management that can be applied at the primary health care level, and eventually of prototype programmes of ARI control. Research may be either hospital-based or population-based; each type has advantages and disadvantages. Studies in hospitalized patients should attempt to establish clinical descriptions of the different types of disease and the relative frequency of the various pathogens involved, to carry out controlled trials of therapeutic methods, and to monitor the locally prevalent pathogenic microorganisms. Population-based research, on the other hand, can provide information on the morbidity and mortality rates in the community, investigate the determinants of incidence and severity of illness, identify individuals and groups at special risk, and determine disease outcome in patients discharged from hospital; in addition controlled trials of preventive and therapeutic interventions can be carried out in a community setting. Research towards the standard plan of patient management should take into account the roles of the mother, the primary health care worker, and the hospital or health centre. The steps in the planning of these studies and in planning for the introduction of a programme of control, and of evaluating the results, are considered in detail. The design of questionnaires for this type of work and the role of the laboratory support are also discussed.
世界卫生组织急性呼吸道感染（ARI）规划的主要目标是，通过流行病学研究和业务研究，制定可在初级卫生保健层面应用的患者管理标准计划，并最终制定ARI控制原型规划。研究可以基于医院或基于人群；每种类型都有优缺点。对住院患者的研究应试图确定不同类型疾病的临床特征以及所涉及的各种病原体的相对频率，开展治疗方法的对照试验，并监测当地流行的致病微生物。另一方面，基于人群的研究可以提供有关社区发病率和死亡率的信息，调查疾病发病率和严重程度的决定因素，识别具有特殊风险的个人和群体，并确定出院患者的疾病转归；此外，还可以在社区环境中开展预防和治疗干预措施的对照试验。制定患者管理标准计划的研究应考虑母亲、初级卫生保健工作者以及医院或卫生中心的作用。详细考虑了这些研究规划以及控制规划引入和结果评估规划中的步骤。还讨论了此类工作问卷的设计以及实验室支持的作用。
