[The sampan dwellers of the Vi Da district (Hue, 1993). Results of a survey preliminary to humanitarian aid intervention].

This survey is a preliminary step in a cooperative health-care programme, run by the association Le Pélican. It was conducted in July 1993 among the sampan dwellers in the district of Vi Da (Hué), Vietnam. The People's Committee of the town of Hué hopes to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants of the district. The work of the association is part of a wider project of integrated cooperation (Cités unies développement) for the community of sampan dwellers. The survey describes the demography, the state of children's health, the attitudes and behaviour of women and heads of the household towards maternity, contraception, disease and the health-care system. The Vi Da community is young: 40.5% of the inhabitants are under 15 years of age. The main health problems involve mothers and children: 56% of children aged between 5 and 59 months suffer from malnutrition; 71% of those between 0 and 15 years of age have never been vaccinated. The use of contraceptives is inadequate. Health-care services, however, are numerous and are mainly in the private sector. Any health-care project undertaken in this district to improve the state of children's health will have to reinforce the immunisation coverage and set up health education programmes dealing with nutrition and family planning. This will require a better knowledge of the mentality of the sampan dwellers, of their socio-cultural environment and their attitudes to illness and health-care.