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Traditional Healers (traditional + healer)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	68%
Humanities and Social Sciences	26%

Selected Abstracts

Intellectual Disability in the Context of a South African Population

JOURNAL OF POLICY AND PRACTICE IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 2 2008
Jennifer Kromberg
Abstract, Childhood disabilities, including intellectual disabilities (ID), are thought to occur in 5,17% of children in developing countries around the world. In order to identify and describe the childhood disabilities occurring in a rural South African population, as well as the context in which they occur, a study was carried out in the Bushbuckridge district in the poor northeast part of the country. Altogether, 6,692 children were screened in their homes in eight villages using the Ten Questions questionnaire. This questionnaire was used by local-trained field-workers in interviews with mothers and other carers, to screen children for five disorders (viz., intellectual, hearing, visual and movement disorders, and epilepsy). Altogether, 722 (10.8% of the total sample) children, who screened positive, were examined at clinics in their villages by a pediatrician for diagnostic, treatment, and referral purposes. In addition, 100 traditional healers in the district were interviewed with a specially designed schedule of questions to assess their attitudes toward disabilities and their management of affected children. The results showed that 291 (4.3%) children had at least one of the five disabilities. ID occurred in 3.6%, epilepsy in 0.7%, visual disorders in 0.5%, movement disorders in 0.5%, and hearing disorders in 0.3%. More boys than girls with hearing disorders were receiving special education. Many of the affected children were not receiving treatment or education, resulting in a reduction in their quality of life. Traditional healers were attempting to treat epilepsy and seldom referred affected children to hospital, although effective treatment was available there. Genetic factors were involved in about half the conditions, but genetic services were negligible. Appropriate health, diagnostic, treatment, educational, and supportive services are required for children with disabilities, and awareness of their needs and the resources to meet them should be increased in this community. [source]

Antiepileptic Therapies in the Mifi Province in Cameroon

EPILEPSIA, Issue 4 2000
P.-M. Preux
Summary: Purpose: To evaluate the availability and accessibility of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in two health districts in Cameroon. Methods: The study included 33 patients with epilepsy, 26 physicians, 13 private pharmacists, eight hospital pharmacists, three distributors, and eight traditional healers. Structured questionnaires were used to assess the knowledge of the disease, treatment accessibility, the methods of prescriptions, and the availability and the frequency of delivery of drugs. Results: Only one of 33 patients did not take modern treatment; 91% of the patients were followed up by a traditional healer, and 78%, by an hospital physician. Phenobarbitone (PB) was the most frequently prescribed drug by 69% of the doctors; 54% of the physicians considered the traditional therapies to be incompatible with modern drug treatment. By pharmacists, PB was delivered regularly. Other drugs went out of stock frequently. The number of packages in stock varied significantly directly with the frequency of delivery. The mean price per package and the mean number of packages in stock were higher in the public hospital pharmacies than in the private pharmacies. A majority of healers explained epilepsy as the presence of excess foam in the abdomen. The remedies proposed were to stop foam secretion. Conclusions: Availability of AEDs was quite high, but with no strict correspondence between the rate of prescriptions and the supply of the drugs. [source]

Saka, an ancestral possession: Malaysia

ASIA-PACIFIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 3 2010
Hasanah Che Ismail MBBS MPM
Abstract This report illustrates a culture-bound disorder known as "saka" in the local population of Kelantan, as well as other states in Malaysia. It is a form of possession by the spirit of a deceased ancestor who was once a traditional healer or shaman. While in a dissociative state, the patient introduced a 7 × 3,4 cm wooden stick precisely into his inferior rectus muscle, in an attempt to identify with a blind ancestor who showed his presence momentarily and specifically to the patient. The stick remained hidden to ophthalmologists for 17 days and during this period the patient developed right orbital cellulitis, bilateral cavernous sinus thrombosis and sepsis. The stick was identified after the family took the patient home for cultural healing rites to be performed. The patient's altered behavior resolved with the removal of the stick and he returned to his premorbid personality and functioning without psychotropic medication. To date, saka has not been reported in any peer-reviewed medical journal. [source]

Community Leader Education to Increase Epilepsy Attendance at Clinics in Epworth, Zimbabwe

EPILEPSIA, Issue 8 2000
D. E. Ball
Summary: Objective: To determine whether educating community leaders about epilepsy would lead to an increase in epilepsy cases being diagnosed and treated at primary health centers. Methods: This was a single-arm cohort study performed in Epworth, a periurban township outside Harare, Zimbabwe. The subjects were Epworth community leaders (Local Board members, teachers, nurses, police officers, traditional healers, prophets). Educational workshops were given on epilepsy, its cause, and its management, and the number of new epilepsy cases on local primary health clinic registers 6 months after the workshops was measured. Results: Six new cases were recorded, all among patients previously diagnosed with epilepsy. This was a significant increase (p = 0.02) compared with the null hypothesis. Conclusion: Although there was a significant increase in new cases, these did not represent newly diagnosed patients. Significant prejudice within the community may still prevent identified patients with epilepsy from seeking treatment. Alternative methods must be sought to increase the awareness of epilepsy within low-income communities and to reach "hidden" people with epilepsy. [source]

Antiepileptic Therapies in the Mifi Province in Cameroon

The effects of traumatic experiences on the infant,mother relationship in the former war zones of central Mozambique: The case of madzawde in Gorongosa

INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 5 2003
Victor Igreja
This article addresses the ways in which years of war and periods of serious drought have affected the cultural representations of the populations in Gorongosa District, Mozambique. In the wake of these events different cultural and historical representations have been disrupted, leaving the members of these communities with fragmented protective and resilience factors to cope effectively. Emphasis is placed on the disruption of madzawde, a mechanism that regulates the relationship between the child (one to two years of life) and the mother, and the family in general. The war, aggravated by famine, prevented the populations from performing this child-rearing practice. Nearly a decade after the war ended, the posttraumatic effects of this disruption are still being observed both by traditional healers and health-care workers at the district hospital. The results suggest that this disruption is affecting and compromising the development of the child and the physical and psychological health of the mother. An in-depth understanding of this level of trauma and posttraumatic effects is instrumental in making a culturally sensitive diagnosis and in developing effective intervention strategies based on local knowledge that has not been entirely lost but is nonetheless being questioned. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health. [source]

The Socio-Cultural Context of Drug Use and Implications for Drug Policy

INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 169 2001
Molly Charles
Cultural diversity in India has nurtured the use of mind-altering substances over centuries, with-out causing any great alarm about drug abuse. This paper, using research conducted by the authors and other secondary data, attempts to present socio-cultural-religious, functional patterns of drug use in the country and examines some of the factors responsible for the drastic changes that have occurred since the 1980s. Specifically, it points out that the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, took the responsibility of drug abuse control away from the community to the near-defunct legal establishment; that by criminalising socio-religious-cultural-recreational use of opium and cannabis, it has promoted the pro-liferation of alcohol, heroin, and other moreharmful pharmaceutical drugs; that it has given a new lease of life to organised crime syndicates; and that denial of access to low cost, accessible health care at the hands of traditional healers is an unintended consequence needing immediate rectification. It makes certain policy recommendations to the UN bodies, their member states and to policy makers in India in particular. [source]

Intellectual Disability in the Context of a South African Population

Traditional Healing and Its Discontents: Efficacy and Traditional Therapies of Neuropsychiatric Disorders in Bali

MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2004
Robert Bush Lemelson
In a discussion of patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and/or Tourettes's Syndrome (TS), in Bali, Indonesia, traditional healing and psychiatric perspectives are used to highlight the power and weakness of each to treat these conditions. Given they are drawn from the same culture, should not indigenous explanatory models provide meaning and be more efficacious at relieving the suffering of people with OCD and TS-like symptoms? What if they provide an understandable meaning for patients but these meanings have no efficacy? Ethnographic data on Balinese models for illness are presented. Multiple data sources were used to frame the complex Balinese traditional healing systems. Forty patients were interviewed regarding their utilization of traditional healers, and healers were observed treating patients and interviewed regarding their treatment regimens and explanatory models. Traditional explanatory models for illness provide an understandable and integrated system of meaning for these disorders but are not successful in relieving symptomatology. Neurobiological approaches, traditional healing, and ethnographic methods are compared and contrasted to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each in relation to issues of exegesis and efficacy, [obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette's Syndrome, traditional healing, Indonesia] [source]

African Independent Churches in Mozambique: Healing the Afflictions of Inequality

MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2002
James Pfeiffer
The recent explosive proliferation of African Independent Churches (AICs) in central Mozambique coincided with rapid growth of economic disparity in the 1990s produced by privatization, cuts in government services, and arrival of foreign aid promoted by Mozambique's World Bank/International Monetary Fund Structural Adjustment Program. Drawing on ethnographic research in the city of Chimoio, this article argues that growing inequality has led to declining social cohesion, heightened individual competition, fear of interpersonal violence, and intensified conflict between spouses in poor families. This perilous social environment finds expression in heightened fears of witchcraft, sorcery, and avenging spirits, which are often blamed in Shona ideology for reproductive health problems. Many women with sick children or suffering from infertility turn to AICs for treatment because traditional healers are increasingly viewed as dangerous and too expensive. The AICs invoke the "Holy Spirit" to exorcise malevolent agents and then provide a community of mutual aid and ongoing protection against spirit threats. [Mozambique, social inequality, African Independent Churches, intrahousehold, health] [source]

Ngongas and ecology: on having a worldview

OIKOS, Issue 1 2001
Joel S. Brown
Ngongas provide a metaphor for some of the opportunities and challenges facing the science of ecology and evolution. Ngongas, the traditional healers of the Shona culture, Zimbabwe, fail in the delivery of quality health by today's standards. Their outdated worldview makes most health related issues seem more complicated and more multi-factorial than when viewed through the worldviews of modern medicine. With the wrong worldview, one can work very hard, be very bright and dedicated, and still be ineffective. With the right worldview, one can work much less hard and still be extremely effective. As ecologists, we should be opinionated and possess clearly articulated worldviews for filtering and interpreting information. As ecologists we are also a bit like ngongas , we often fail to provide answers for society's ecological questions and problems, and we excuse ourselves with a belief that ecological systems are too complex and have too many factors. Unlike ngongas, this invites us to pay a lot of attention to promoting and assessing competing worldviews. We should be open-minded to the anomalies in our worldview and the successes of alternative viewpoints. As an admitted ecological ngonga, I discuss the worldview I use in my own research: the Optimization Research Program, a Darwinian research program that uses game theory to conceptualize and understand ecological systems. I use it illustrate how worldviews can synthesize disparate ideas. (I use kin selection and reciprocal altruism as examples.) I use it to show how new ideas and predictions can be generated. (I use root competition in plants and the possibility that increased crop yield may be forthcoming from knowledge of this game.) [source]

Wound healing effects of noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) leaves: a mechanism involving its PDGF/A2A receptor ligand binding and promotion of wound closure

PHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH, Issue 10 2010
Afa Palu
Abstract Morinda citrifolia L. (Rubiaceae) commonly known as noni, has been used in Polynesia by traditional healers for the treatment of cuts, bruises and wounds. Our objective was to investigate the wound-healing mechanisms of the noni leaf. The investigations of its wound-healing mechanisms were carried out using fresh noni leaf juice (NLJ), noni leaf ethanol extract (NLEE) and its methanol (MFEE) and hexane (HFEE) fractions on the PDGF and A2A receptors in vitro and topically in mice. Fresh noni leaf juice showed significant affinity to PDGF receptors, and displayed 166% binding inhibition of the ligand binding to its receptors, while at the same concentration, it only had 7% inhibition of the ligand binding to the A2A receptors. NLEE, HFEE and MFEE showed significant affinity to A2A receptors, concentration dependently, with IC50 values of 34.1, 42.9 and 86.7,,g/mL, respectively. However, MFEE significantly increased wound closure and reduced the half closure time in mice with a CT50 of 5.4 ± 0.2 days compared with control (p < 0.05). These results suggest that noni leaf significantly accelerated wound healing in mice via its ligand binding to the PDGF and A2A receptors as its probable mechanisms of wound-healing and also support its traditional usage for wound-healing in Polynesia. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

The antidiarrhoeal activity of Alchornea cordifolia leaf extract

PHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH, Issue 11 2004
Gabriel A. Agbor
Abstract Diarrhoea is a public health problem in developing countries. It is therefore important and useful to identify plants with antidiarrhoeal activity. Alchornea cordifolia is quoted by many traditional healers as a plant with this activity. The antidiarrhoeal activity of its leaf extract was investigated against castor oil induced diarrhoea in mice, using morphine as the standard reference drug. A signi,cant (p < 0.01) dose related (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg, 800 mg/kg) antidiarrhoeal activity of A. cordifolia leaf ethanol extract was observed with 800 mg/kg extract being the most effective. It delayed mouse intestinal transit accelerated by castor oil, inhibited the production of diarrhoeal faeces and modi,ed the ,uid and electrolyte transport across the colonic mucosa when administered intraluminally. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannins and ,avonoids which may account for the increased colonic water and electrolyte reabsorption, a mechanism suggested for the antidiarrhoeal activity of A. cordifolia. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

The effect of capsaicin on blood glucose, plasma insulin levels and insulin binding in dog models

PHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH, Issue 5 2001
I. Tolan
Abstract Capsicum frutescens has been used to treat diabetes mellitus by traditional healers in Jamaica. This study was designed to identify any hypoglycaemic principle(s) and to determine the mechanism of action. Purification experiments employing thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) led to the extraction of the active principle, capsaicin. Capsaicin caused a decrease in blood glucose levels of 4.91,±,0.52 (n,=,6),mmol/dL versus 6.40,±,0.13,mmol/dL (n,=,6) for the control (p,<,0.05) at the 2.5,h time interval when the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed on dogs treated with capsaicin and compared with the control. Plasma insulin levels measured at the 2.5,h time interval showed that there was an increase in plasma insulin levels of 5.78,±,0.76,µIU/mL (n,=,6) for the capsaicin treated dogs versus 3.70,±,0.43,µIU/mL (n,=,10) for the control (p,<,0.05). Insulin receptor studies, using a modification of the method of Gambhir et al. done on monocytes obtained from blood at the 2.5,h time interval showed that there was a decrease in the percentage receptor binding for the capsaicin treated dogs when compared with the control. Insulin affinity results showed that there was a decrease of 2.4,×,10,4 in monocytes for the capsaicin treated dogs versus 8.77,×,10,4 for the control (p,<,0.05). Also, insulin receptor calculations showed a decrease in number, 2.63,×,108,±,5.73,×,107, compared with 8.77,×,108,±,1.47,×,108 for the control. In conclusion it can be stated that capsaicin is responsible for the hypoglycaemic episodes seen in the dogs and that it also causes an increase in insulin secretion which leads to a reduction of insulin binding on the insulin receptors. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Contrasting Concepts of Depression in Uganda: Implications for Service Delivery in a Multicultural Context

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2009
Laura R. Johnson
Depression is a rising public health concern worldwide. Understanding how people conceptualize depression within and across cultures is crucial to effective treatment in a global environment. In this article, we highlight the importance of considering both lay and professional perspectives when developing a culturally competent and contextually relevant model for service delivery. We conducted interviews with 246 Ugandan adults to elicit their explanatory belief models (EMs) about the nature of depression, its causes, social meanings, effects, help seeking, and treatment. Interviews were transcribed, content analyzed, and coded. We compared EMs of community members (n = 135) to those of professional practitioners (n = 111), whom we further categorized into traditional healers, primary care providers, and mental health professionals. We found significant differences between lay and professional EMs and between 3 types of professionals. Contrary to our expectations, lay concepts did not overlap more with traditional healers than with other professional EMs. We discuss the diverse concepts of depression in Uganda, the nature of group differences, and implications for service delivery and treatment. [source]

Perceptual Diversity: Is Polyphasic Consciousness Necessary for Global Survival?

ANTHROPOLOGY OF CONSCIOUSNESS, Issue 1 2001
Tara W. Lumpkin
Perceptual diversity allows human beings to access knowledge through a variety of perceptual processes, rather than merely through everyday waking reality. Many of these perceptual processes are transrational altered states of consciousness (meditation, trance, dreams, imagination) and are not considered valid processes for accessing knowledge by science (which is based primarily upon quantification, reductionism, and the experimental method). According to Erika Bourguignon's (1973) research in the 1970s, approximately 90 percent of cultures have institutionalized forms of altered states of consciousness, meaning that such types of consciousness are to be found in most human societies and are "normal." Now, however, transrational consciousness is being devalued in many societies as it is simultaneously being replaced by the monophasic consciousness of "developed" nations. Not only are we are losing (1) biodiversity (biocomplexity) in environments and (2) cultural diversity in societies, we also are losing (3) perceptual diversity in human cognitive processes. All three losses of diversity (bio, cultural, and cognitive) are interrelated. Cultures that value perceptual diversity are more adaptable than cultures that do not. Perceptually diverse cultures are better able to understand whole systems (because they use a variety of perceptual processes to understand systems) than are cultures that rely only on the scientific method, which dissects systems. They also are better stewards of their environments, because they grasp the value of the whole of biodiversity (biocomplexity) through transrational as well as scientific processes. Understanding through perceptual diversity leads to a higher degree of adaptability and evolutionary competence. From the perspective of an anthropologist who has worked with development organizations, development will continue to destroy perceptual diversity because it exports the dominant cognitive process of "developed" nations, i.e., monophasic consciousness. Destroying perceptual diversity, in turn, leads to the destruction of cultural diversity and biocomplexity. Drawing from research I conducted among traditional healers in Namibia, I conclude that development organizations need to listen to those who use transrational perceptual processes and also need to find a way to incorporate and validate perceptual diversity in their theoretical and applied frameworks. [source]

Prevention of relapse and interventions for enhancing medication adherence in schizophrenia: An East Asian perspective

ASIA-PACIFIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2010
Salleh Mohd Razali MPM FAMM
Abstract Introduction: Studies investigating the efficacy of interventions for improving treatment non-adherence in schizophrenia have generated contrasting findings. The present review examined psychosocial interventions for improving medication adherence and prevention of relapse among patients with schizophrenia in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific. Methods: The relevant literature and systematic review were identified by computerized searches using keywords, and hand-searched for other selected articles. Results: The reasons for poor medication adherence were complex and heterogenous. Psychoeducation programs alone are ineffective in achieving good medication adherence because they do not lead to attitudinal and behavioral changes. The greatest improvement in adherence was seen with interventions employing a combination of educational, behavioral and cognitive strategies. Unfortunately, few relevant studies from this region were found. There were some interventions related to psychoeducation and compliance therapy (CT) that were successfully conducted by nurses. Patients in developing countries generally had better family support, but strong stigma towards mental illness and interference by traditional healers led to poor treatment adherence. Lack of facilities and shortage of medical professionals aggravated the situation. Discussion: Intervention to improve treatment adherence and prevention of relapse among patients with schizophrenia should be incorporated into existing psychiatric services. Adherence to treatment in patients with schizophrenia could be improved if continuously supported and monitored by caregivers and treating doctors, to facilitate a change in the patient's attitude. Paramedical personnel, such as psychiatric nurses, could be actively involved in intervention programs because of the shortage of medical professionals in this region. [source]

General health in Timor-Leste: self-assessed health in a large household survey

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 4 2009
Jaya Earnest
Abstract Objective: Timor-Leste is one of the world's newest nations and became a democracy in 2002. Ranked 150 out of 177 in the 2007 UNDP Human Development Index, the country has the worst health indicators in the Asia-Pacific region. The objective of this study was to collect and analyse data on subjectively assessed general health, health service use, migration and mobility patterns. Methods: The data collection involved recording self-reported status of general health using a structured questionnaire. The survey was administered to 1,213 Timorese households in six districts using a multi-stage random cluster sampling procedure. Basic descriptive statistical analyses were performed on all variables with SPSS version 13. Results: More than a quarter (27%) of respondents reported a health problem at the time of the survey. Only approximately half of respondents assessed their health to be good (53%) or average (38%). Barriers reported in the uptake of healthcare services were no felt needed; difficulty in accessing services and unavailability of service. Conclusions: Results reveal that Timor-Leste needs a more decentralised provision of healthcare through primary healthcare centres or integrated health services. Trained traditional healers, who are familiar with the difficult terrain and understand cultural contexts and barriers, can be used to improve uptake of public health services. An adult literacy and community health education program is needed to further improve the extremely poor health indicators in the country. Implications: Key lessons that emerged were the importance of understanding cultural mechanisms in areas of protracted conflict and the need for integrated health services in communities. [source]

Tooth follicle extirpation and uvulectomy

AUSTRALIAN DENTAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2005
NL Johnston
Abstract Migration is not only the movement of people, but also of their culture, customs and beliefs. As more people from developing countries in Africa migrate to industrialized countries, the more likely health professionals will find themselves providing care for people of whose customs and practices they have little knowledge. This review of the literature suggests that removal of deciduous canine follicles and uvulectomy are frequently practised in some African and neighbouring countries. Reasons given for deciduous canine extirpation include the prevention of vomiting, fever and diarrhoea. The indications for uvulectomy appear widespread, including treatment for persistent fever, coughing and growth retardation. The practices are usually performed by traditional healers. Risks for children who undergo these procedures are extensive, including septicaemia, potential for HIV transmission, numerous dental complications and death. With improved understanding between Western health teams and local, traditional people, an improved system may develop whereby the two systems can work together in providing improved health outcomes for the people. [source]