However, there are sick people in the community who are scared to come out in the open. People with HIV are scared to come to us because they don't want their families to know. With all the misconceptions about the disease, such as that transmission of the virus can be air-borne, and the moral issues behind this deadly disease, Aids patients are generally discriminated against. These people usually go to the NGOs, temples or other foundations directly involved with the issue. The main concern for Dr Boonruang is the drug abuse that is prevalent in almost all low-income communities.
People have to work odds and ends jobs to earn a couple of hundred baht.
Without the drug, they can't stay awake when they have to work on a night shift. This is the conundrum that these people have to face-take the pills and work more or leave the family with empty stomachs. These low-income people are not only inclined toward drug abuse but also to arthritis and muscle problems due to inadequate attention to safety in the work place. Complaints about backache and sore necks are quite common among the working age group here because they engage in labour-intensive jobs that lack proper ergonomic features. Joint pains are also very common among the elderly.