Primary health care in an unsettled area of northern Thailand

The implementation of primary health care by nurses in poor and geographically isolated areas of the world is a complex and difficult task. When the area is also unsettled and insecure the task becomes increasingly formidable. Under these conditions primary health care is bound by not only the allocation of resources and restricted mobility but also the instability of changing government policies that influence all parameters of life. Mounting evidence has demonstrated that self-determination--derived from community-based socio-economic development--is a prerequisite to the initiation of a successful health care system. In turn, socioeconomic development is possible only when people are secure from expulsion from their land and the country. In addition, they must also be protected against outside coercion and violence that undermines community stability. The following is a report on health care problems related to the socioeconomic instability of an unsettled area that has global implications for nurses in similar areas worldwide.