| Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook | |
| Author: | David Werner Carol Thuman Jane Maxwell |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Subject: | Health care |
| Publisher: | Hesperian Health Guides |
| Pub Date: | Second revised edition: 1992. Fifteenth revised printing: November 2017 |
| Pages: | 512 |
| Isbn: | 978-0-942364-15-6 |
| Dewey: | 610 20 |
| Congress: | RC81 .W4813 1992 |
| Oclc: | 25592300 |
Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook is a healthcare manual published by Hesperian Health Guides. Based on David Werner's experiences at his Project Piaxtla in western Mexico, it was originally written in 1970 in Spanish as Donde No Hay Doctor.[1] It has since been revised multiple times, sold over one million copies, and been translated into over 100 languages. The book is available for purchase as a book or CD, and can be downloaded as a PDF for free.[2]
Its distribution is worldwide. In Uzbekistan, a United States Agency for International Development grant enabled a team under Dr. Donald Elsworth and Robert Graves of Central Asian Free Exchange to translate the book into Uzbek.[3] The U.S. Peace Corps has also distributed it in The Gambia.[4]
In 2012, Hesperian Health Guides launched their Digital Commons, and health manuals, including Where There Is No Doctor, which could at one time be downloaded in 26 different languages, including Arabic, Filipino, Khmer, Lao, Portuguese, Spanish, and Urdu.[5] The Commons also made available images from the book.
The book covers diarrhoea, malaria, bone fractures, ringworm, and others. Special emphasis is placed on hygiene, a healthy diet and vaccinations. The new edition includes information about some additional health problems, such as AIDS, dengue fever, complications from abortion, and drug addiction, and covers both childbirth and family planning.[6]
In the British Medical Journal, a 1998 review said:
The book was referenced in a 2004 article in The Lancet, entitled "Can we achieve health information for all by 2015?" The authors wrote that:
In the Journal of the American Medical Association, a 2010 review said,