Medicalization of menopause is a relatively recent phenomenon, originating from and shaped in the Northern American and Western European cultural context. This article, which is based on data from ethnographic research done in Istanbul between June 2006 and March 2007, explores how menopause is perceived and constructed in Turkey. Since the 1920s, Western science and technology has been accepted as the "guide" for the Turkish modernization project. Starting with the 1980s, neoliberalism and globalization brought structural changes, new notions, and practices in the health care sector as well as furthering and changing the modernization ideals. In this article I illustrate the interactions between modernization, globalization, femininity, and health by juxtaposing narratives of menopause as told by women and physicians. I argue that the ideals of modernity, especially the concept of "consciousness" (bilinç), provide a discursive basis for the adoption of the global medical discourse around menopause in the Turkish context.

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This paper reviews the experience of the Istanbul Tuberculosis Aid Program, which targeted tuberculosis (TB) disease in the growing irregular migrant populations of Istanbul. This experience illustrated the importance of community-based public health interventions when dealing with an infectious disease like TB among vulnerable groups. Our data is derived primarily from a qualitative study carried out with program stakeholders. We summarize lessons for success of ITAP as: (1) Strengthening impact and outreach of TB intervention among irregular migrant communities through involvement of multiple stakeholders (2) Increasing TB awareness through a community targeted approach (3) Increasing TB contact tracing and treatment success among infected irregular migrants, and, (4) Improving overall health seeking behavior of irregular migrants through empowerment and trust. Given these particularities we list our policy suggestions for revision of regulations regarding TB control and healthcare needs of irregular migrant populations.

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