Disease, Treatment and Health Behaviour in Sri Lanka

This book brings together the findings of a review of the theories of mortality decline, the evolution of Sri Lanka’s health care system from the traditional to be modern, and the analysis of data from two recent and major surveys, one of which was conducted by the author. It seeks to understand the Sri Lankan health miracle and to see whether the Sri Lankan model can be transferred to other developing countries. With a per capita income of around US$ 500 per annum, about one-fortieth of the average level of industrialized countries, Sri Lanka has achieved a life expectancy almost equal to the developed countries. This book looks at the nature of the Sri Lankan society and its extraordinary achievements in the field of education. It examines the mechanisms through which Sri Lankans obtain medical services and seeks an explanation of why these services are employed so well. It also sets out to examine the very important, though very difficult, area of the sociocultural-ideological setting of mortality, mortality differentials and mortality decline in Sri Lanka. This book will be of immense value not only to scholars with an interest in Sri Lanka itself, but also more widely, since Sri Lanka has drawn attention to itself as a high achiever in health terms given its economic situation.