An Investigation of Resources in Selected Southern Communities Relevant to the Needs of an Individual with Emphysema

Abstract

It was determined that my work would be a part of the Chronic Pulmonary Diseases Rehabilitation and Education Project conducted at the Medical College, and I would concentrate on the resources within the area covered by the O.P.D. Project. This area included counties of both Georgia and South Carolina which were within a fifty-mile radius of Augusta. Secondly, because emphysema is one of the most common chronic pulmonary diseases, I used it as an example of a chronic pulmonary disease. I feel I was justified in limiting my scope in this way, not only because the resources relevant to the needs of an emphysema patient would also be appropriate for other patients with chronic pulmonary diseases, but also because these resources would apply to the aged and chronically ill. Furthermore, I selected three communities within the project area that I felt would reveal the difference between the maximum and minimum community resources, and the differences between States in the provisions of agencies such as the welfare departments.