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Banaban Health Survey 1995

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 The following HEALTH REPORT was published as a 'Feature Story' in our Society's newsletter -

Banaba/Ocean Island News - Issue No. 21.

This survey was one of the first of it's kind taken on Rabi and organised by Japanese Society member - Manabu Kitaguchi. Manabu was working with JICA as a Japanese Volunteer Abroad at the time. Our special thanks go to fellow volunteer Noriko Hayashida for supplying the Society with this important information. Noriko is currently working as a nursing sister at Lautoka Base Hospital in Fiji, while Manabu Kitaguchi has returned to Japan to take up a position with IMADR - International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism, in Tokyo Office. A copy of this report has also been forwarded to Fiji's Health Ministry in Suva.

 

Noriko Hayashida conducting Blood Pressure Checks on Rabi Island  

Voluntary Medical Check up for Public in Rabi Island

Written by Noriko Hayashida


The following Health Survey was conducted on Rabi Island on Saturday 27th. May, 1995, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Nuku.

The Medical Staff responsible for the Health Survey and Public Health Care Video Show were -

  • Mr. Manabu Kitaguchi (JOCV - Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers)
  • Mr. Takeshi Fujiwara (JOCV)
  • Sister Noriko Hayashida (JOCV)
  • Dr. Katsunori Osuga (WHO - World Health Organisation)
  • Mr. Kazuyoshi Ogawa (Japanese Embassy)
  • Sister Ateca Lepper (Divisional Health Sister Northern District Fiji)
  • Staff Nurse Sales Tine (Rabi Hospital)
  • Staff Nurse Tebamari Akata (Rabi Hospital)

1 - MEDICAL TESTS CONDUCTED

  • Check of Height and Weight.
  • Urine Test
  • Check of Blood Pressure
  • Check of Pulse rate
  • Check of under the eye
  • Checks for glucose in the blood

2 - EDUCATION OF HEALTH & NUTRITION

  • Showing posters of diabetes, hypertension, nutrition and diet.
  • Screening video tapes on food poisoning, diabetes, hypertension and AIDS.
  • Lecture about food poisoning, diabetes, hypertension and AIDS from Dr. Katsunori Osuga and Sister Ateca Lepper.
  • Screening video tapes on agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

Distributing pamphlets on -

 
  • Over Weight
 
  • Diabetic Diet
 
  • Salt
 
  • Fat
 
  • Anaemia
 
  • A Guide For Healthy Meals
 
  • Tuberculosis
 
  • Recommended Good Food

3 - CHECK HEALTH CONDITION AND DAILY LIFE IN RABI

Survey health conditions and daily life to understand their medical history, family history, dietary life and frequency of medical check up.

4 - THE PEOPLE ATTENDING MEDICAL CHECK UP

20 Years old and over.

5 - NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED MEDICAL CHECK UP

  1. Total of 59 people tested. (15 males, 44 females).
  2. The average age attending was 46.3 years. (The average age of males was 48.3 years). (The average age of females was 45.6 years).

 

Here is a sample of the list of questions that were asked in our Health Survey and the survey’s findings.

 

Health Survey - Questionnaire

1. Have you had any disease?

YES 90%

2. Does any of your family have diabetes, hypertension, over weight or heart disease?

YES 49%

3. Do you smoke?

YES 37%

4. Do you take alcohol?

YES 14%

5. Do you drink YAQONA? (Kava)

YES 29%

6. Do you do good exercise?

YES 19%

7. What kind of job do you do?

8. What time do you go to bed every night?

 Time

No. People

 6pm

1

 7pm

1

 8-9pm

8

 9-10pm

16

 10-11pm

16

 11-12am

8

 12-1am

3

 1.30am

1

 2-3am

 3

9. What time do you get up every morning?

Time

 No.People

 1am

1

 3am

3

 4-5am

12

 5-6am

22

 6-7am

13

 7-8am

5

 9am

1

10. What did you eat during lunch time?

(22) Tapioca, (17) Rice; (4) Cassava; (1) Breadfruit, Fish; Meat, vegetables, instant noodles, daro, roti.

What time did you eat lunch time?

Time

 No.People

 10am

1

 11am

1

 12noon

15

 12.30pm

4

 1pm

16

 2pm

11

 3pm

1

 

11. What did you eat during breakfast?

(17) Tapioca; (11) Bread; (9) Rice; (6) Biscuit; (2) Cassava, Oatmeal; (1) Donuts; Crackers, Potato, Daro.

What time did you eat breakfast?

 Time

No. People

 5am

1

 6am

3

 7am

10

 7.30am

2

 8am

30

 8.30am

1

 9am

8

 10am

1

12. What did you eat for supper last night?

(26) Rice; (18) Tapioca; (4) Cassava, Breadfruits, (2) Bread, Daro, (37) Fish; (4) Meat, (7) Vegetables

What time did you eat supper last night?

 Time

No. People

 5pm

1

 6pm

2

 6.30pm

1

 7pm

17

 7.30pm

1

 8pm

24

 9pm

8

 10pm

1

 11pm

1

13. Do you have 3 meals a day?

YES 60%
NO 40%

Of the People who said ‘NO’ (4) Males (19) Females

Males - (2) No jobs; (1) Fisherman; (1) Farmer.
Females - (11) No jobs; (5) Wives; (1) Council Worker; (1) Manager’s Shop; (1) Sewer.

14. When you cook a meal, do you think about nutrition? (Only women)

YES 45%

6 - RESULTS OF MEDICAL CHECK UP

Results 

No. People  

  %
 Overweight

 36

 61%

 Likelihood of Diabetes

4

 7%

 Likelihood of Urine Problems

4

7%

 Likelihood of Moderate Hypertension

 24

 41%

 Likelihood of Severe Hypertension

 4

 7%

 Likelihood of Heart Disease

 Nil

Nil

 Likelihood of Anemia

 9

 15%

 Treat Diabetes  

 9

15% 

 Treat Hypertension

 3

 5%

7 - RABI ISLAND AND DIABETES

Diabetes is caused by lack of Insulin which is one of the hormones produced by the pancreas.


It doesn’t prove how diabetes occurs very well, yet. But it could be due to overweight, heredity, eating too much, imbalance of nutrition, stress and lack of exercise.

We know many people have diabetes in Rabi Island, This is a very serious problem there.

When we surveyed the people in Loa village, Buca Bay, Vanua Levu, which is one of the typical Fijian Villages in this district, people didn’t have diabetes there.

  • Why didn’t they have diabetes when Loa village and Rabi Island are very close?


In comparison diet life on Rabi Island and Loa village is something like this -

 

RABI ISLAND

Breakfast  
Main dish:
Tapioca (17 people), Bread (11 people), Rice (9 people), Biscuit (6 people) etc.
Lunch
Main dish:
Tapioca (22 people), Rice (17 people), Cassava (4 people) etc.
Side dish:
Fish (30 people), Meat (5 people), Vegetable (5 people).
Supper
Main dish:
Rice (26 people), Tapioca (18 people), Cassava (4 people), Breadfruit (4 people) etc.
Side dish:
Fish (37 people), Meat (4 people), Vegetable (7 people).

 

LOA VILLAGE

Breakfast  
Main dish:
Cassava (14 people), Rice (6 people), Pan Cake (5 people), Banaba (4 people) etc.
Side dish:
Fish (6 people), Vegetable (2 people).
Lunch
Main dish:
Cassava (21 people), Breadfruit (8 people), Daro (4 people) etc.
Side dish:
Fish (25 people), Meat (4 people), Vegetable (14 people).
Supper
Main dish:
Cassava (25 people), Daro (8 people), Rice (4 people) etc.
Side dish:
Fish (16 people), Meat (3 people), Vegetable (19 people).

We understand in both places the root crops and rice are the main dish. Also we understand that many people of Loa village eat vegetables for side dishes, and many people of Rabi eat fish for side dishes, and less eat vegetables.
Therefore diet life on Rabi Island and Loa village are very different.

The diet of Rabi people is nutritionally imbalanced, because food prices are high, and food are not enough in Rabi Island, so I think diabetes occurs in Rabi because of the imbalance of nutrition.

Also many people are under exercised in Rabi Island. I think this is also a big problem that could lead to diabetes.
Anyway we must improve the situation.

The most important thing is for all people to have a clear knowledge of diabetes, for example:

  • Why diabetes occurs
  • What kind of people can have diabetes
  • How can diabetes be prevented.
  •  

8 - RABI ISLAND AND CIGARETTES

37% of the people smoke in Rabi Island. This is a higher than other places. The Average smoking in a day is 11.3 cigarettes.

Also the number of women smoking is triple than that of males smoking. This is very interesting data, because males are smoking more than women in Japan and developed countries.

Smoking isn’t a traditional habit in Rabi Island, It is just that they like smoking.

The measure of non-smokers has been carried out by the WHO and many organisations in the world now, but this research is late in Fiji. We must educate people about the many diseases that are caused by smoking, for example:

  • Heart disease
  • Cancer
  • Bronchitis etc,

Noriko Hayashida  

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