Organizer: Center for Khmer Studies
Type/Location: Virtual
Abstract:
During these past years, Cambodia has made considerable progress in public health through efforts to build up its healthcare system. Yet, inequalities remain, especially in rural areas where access to healthcare is still a challenge. In Takeo province, a range of health issues, from common infections to the rise of chronic conditions, is exacerbated by a widespread and unregulated use of antibiotics, which poses major public health problems. This qualitative research conducted in three villages in Takeo province, representing rural, semi-rural, and urban contexts, was designed to gain a better understanding of the dynamics at work. Seventy-five community members, who had been living in these areas for at least one month, participated in the study through a specified practical framework. Semi-structured interviews conducted in Khmer explored their recent experiences (over the past 12 months) and perceptions of health issues, healthcare pathways, and antibiotic use. Focusing on participant accounts of daily practices for seeking healthcare, this study aims to achieve a contextualized understanding of healthcare behaviors and the interaction between formal and informal healthcare access, cultural representations of disease, and community dynamics. Our intent is to encourage constructive reflection on the available means for promoting a more rational use of antibiotics and to strengthen health strategies tailored to the realities of local populations.
Keywords: Cambodia, healthcare, antibiotics, community health, public health, qualitative study
About the Speakers:
Téphanie Sieng, PhD in Human and Economic Geography (INALCO – CESSMA), is a postdoctoral scientist in Social Science at the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (IPC). Her research explores territorial, social, and health dynamics in rural and forest communities, focusing on public health, emerging infectious diseases, zoonoses, and vector-borne diseases. She co-leads the RACSMEI (One Health) and VIRAGE (rabies) studies with Dr. Claude Flamand (IPC) on the Social Science component. She has also contributed to research on forest malaria and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), emphasizing local social behaviors and health challenges in endemic areas.
About the Moderator:
Andrew Mertha is the George and Sadie Hyman Professor of China Studies, Director of the China Studies Program, and Director of the SAIS China Research Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Mertha has served as the Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and International Research Cooperation at SAIS. He is formerly a professor of Government at Cornell University and an assistant professor of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis. Mertha is the author of Brothers in Arms: Chinese Aid to the Khmer Rouge, 1975-1979 (Cornell University Press, 2014) and the editor of May Ebihara’s Svay: A Cambodian Village, with an introduction by Judy Ledgerwood (Cornell University Press/Cornell Southeast Asia Program Press, 2018). His latest book, Bad Lieutenants: The Khmer Rouge, United Front, and Class Struggle, 1970–1997, was published by Cornell University Press in May 2025 (open access/free download: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501781018/bad-lieutenants/). Mertha is on the Editorial Committee for the Journal of Comparative Politics, and (formerly) The China Quarterly, and Asian Survey. He is vice president of the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS). Mertha received his PhD from the University of Michigan and is originally from New York City.
Registration:
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