Little information is known of skin diseases within rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. There an urgent need to identify plants with antimicrobial activity as there increase the incidence new and re-emerging infectious diseases. The present study compares species from two different localities used treat common diseases, parts used, method prepare traditional cures. prevalence dise...

AIMS To investigate whether a brief, contact based anti-stigma interventionentitled, 'The Wounded Healer' can positively influence participants' views towards mental health challenges in medical students and doctors. We also wanted to raise awareness of the importance of registering witha General Practitioner (GP) and consulting him/her when under mental distress. BACKGROUND Despite the perce...

In Tanzania, people with tuberculosis (TB) commonly self-medicate or visit traditional healers before seeking formal medical care. Between 2009 and 2011, we piloted a community-based project in Kisarawe District to improve TB case notification. The project trained 15 traditional healers and 15 pharmacists to identify and refer individuals with TB symptoms to diagnostic facilities. In addition, ...

In resource-limited settings, the choice between utilizing biomedical health services and/or traditional healers is critical to the success of the public health mission. In the literature, this choice has been predicted to be influenced by three major factors: knowledge about biomedical etiologies; cultural modernization; and rational choice. The current study investigated all three of these pr...

BACKGROUND Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder, with over 80 % of cases found in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Studies from high-income countries find a significant economic burden associated with epilepsy, yet few studies from LMICs, where out-of-pocket costs for general healthcare can be substantial, have assessed out-of-pocket costs and health care utilization for outpatie...

This is a comparative study in two ways. After a summary of the historical and cultural research into traditional healing which is relevant to this article, then some comments about the general usage of such themes in contemporary Irish literature, the article moves on to examine the role and function of traditional healing as a motif in four specific literary texts. These are: two Irish plays,...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether alterations in random events, as measured by a Random event generator (REG), occur in association with a bioenergy healing practice. DESIGN AND SETTING Two REGs were set up and run in parallel: one in a bioenergy healer's office and another at a local library as a control. Two multiday sets of data were collected in each setting. A third set was collected in whi...