ArticleAfrican health sciences2009
The prevalence and severity of mental illnesses handled by traditional healers in two districts in Uganda.
Article in African health sciences, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effectiveness of multi-modal cognitive behavioural therapy in improving mental well-being among caregivers of children with disabilities in urban Uganda: A cluster-randomized controlled trial.Journal of global health · 2022Trial
- Effect of collaborative care between traditional and faith healers and primary health-care workers on psychosis outcomes in Nigeria and Ghana (COSIMPO): a cluster randomised controlled trial.Lancet (London, England) · 2020Trial
- COllaborative Shared care to IMprove Psychosis Outcome (COSIMPO): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Trials · 2017Trial
- Correlates of traditional medicine utilization among school-going adolescents and young adults with mental disorders in central and eastern Uganda: a cross-sectional survey.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Article
- PATIENT PATHWAYS TO UGANDA'S FIRST SPECIALISED EARLY INTERVENTION IN PSYCHOSIS SERVICE AND RELATION TO THEIR CLINICAL OUTCOMES.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Embracing Pluralism: Rethinking Western Psychiatric Models for Equitable Global Mental Health.Culture, medicine and psychiatry · 2026Article
- A comprehensive review of mental health services across selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa: assessing progress, challenges, and future direction.Discover mental health · 2025Review
- A Narrative-Gamified Mental Health App (Kuamsha) for Adolescents in Uganda: Mixed Methods Feasibility and Acceptability Study.JMIR serious games · 2024Article
- Assessing the Usage and Usability of a Mental Health Advice Telephone Service in Uganda: Mixed Methods Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- A qualitative study about explanatory models of alcohol use disorder among patients and relatives in a Ugandan mental hospital.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- "I was also trying to protect myself and save my life," experiences of people living with severe mental illness and their caregivers regarding COVID-19 response in Uganda.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2024Article
- Prevalence of alcohol and other psychoactive substance abuse and association with depression among medical students in Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State.The Pan African medical journal · 2024Article
- Family Psycho-Social Involvement Intervention for severe mental illness in Uganda.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2024Article
- Ecologies of care for serious mental illness in Uganda: A scoping review.Global social welfare : research, policy & practice · 2021Article
- Parental mental illness and their offspring's mental health in Rwanda: neuropsychiatric hospital of Rwanda.BMC psychology · 2021Article
- From their own perspectives: a qualitative study exploring the perceptions of traditional health practitioners in northern Uganda regarding cancers, their causes and treatments.BMC family practice · 2021Article
- Becoming a Xhosa traditional healer: The calling, illness, conflict and belonging.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2021Article
- Quality of individual and group level interventions for first-episode psychosis at the tertiary psychiatric hospital in Uganda.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLittle is known about the prevalence and severity of DSM-IV mental disorders treated by traditional healers in Uganda.
objectiveTo describe the prevalence and severity of DSM-IV disorders handled by traditional healers in Jinja and Iganga districts, Eastern Uganda.
methodBetween January and March 2008, Face-to-Face Interviews were conducted with 400 patients attending traditional healers' shrines for mental health problems, using Self Rating Questionnaire 25 (SRQ-25) for screening, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI-Plus) for specific DSM-IV diagnosis and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) for severity of illness. Descriptive data analysis and frequency estimates were performed using SPSS version 15.0 for Windows. Pearson's chi-square tests and odds ratios were used to explore the relationship between severity and combined use of biomedical services and traditional healing.
resultsOf 387 respondents, 60.2% had diagnosable current mental illness and 16.3% had had one disorder in their lifetime. Of the diagnosable current mental illnesses, 29.7% were Psychosis; 5.4% Major depressive episode; 5.6% Anxiety disorders; 3.6% mixed Anxiety-Depression; and 3.9% Suicidality. In terms of severity, 37.7% of the current mental illnesses were severe, 35.1% moderate and 13.2% mild. Patients with moderate to severe symptoms were more likely to use both biomedical services and traditional healers.
conclusionThese findings suggest that a considerable number of patients with DSM-IV diagnosable mental disorders attend traditional healing shrines; the majority had moderate to severe symptoms. Mental health professionals therefore need to come up with ways to co-operate with traditional healers, e.g. as officially designated Traditional Mental Attendants (TMA), for the benefit of their patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
20589155PMC2890991What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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