Health in Khulais villages, Saudi Arabia. An educational project

A field work project was conducted in Khulais villages by the Department of Community Medicine, Riyadh Faculty of Medicine, in February 1977. The project involved jointly Riyadh University and the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health, as well as other organizations. Over a 10-day period, twenty-five students of the fourth-year medical class under the supervision of seven members of the staff studied health problems and rendered selected health services to the community. Project activities included a study of a sample of 280 schoolchildren by clinical examination, anthropometric measurement and selected laboratory investigations; a house-to-house survey; a study of the epidemiology of schistosomiasis and malaria; immunization of pre-school children; a health education programme and an evaluation of the health centre's activities. The main objective was to give the students an appreciation of the need for team-work in approaching community health and help to cultivate their interest in community medicine as an applied discipline.