ArticlePloS one2013
Educational intervention increased referrals to allopathic care by traditional healers in three high HIV-prevalence rural districts in Mozambique.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The role of traditional healers along the cancer care continuum in Sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Pooled it
- Pathways to mental health services across local health systems in sub-Saharan Africa: Findings from a systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Linkage-to-Care and Antiretroviral Initiation Implementation Strategies in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Across Sub-Saharan Africa.AIDS and behavior · 2022Pooled it
- Traditional and religious healers in the pathway to care for people with mental disorders in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2015Pooled it
- Traditional healers can help facilitate HIV serostatus disclosure: results from a qualitative study in rural Uganda.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2025Trial
- A Cluster-Randomized Trial of Traditional Healer-Delivered Counseling and Rapid HIV Testing in Tanzania.AIDS and behavior · 2022Trial
- Traditional healer-delivered point-of-care HIV testing versus referral to clinical facilities for adults of unknown serostatus in rural Uganda: a mixed-methods, cluster-randomised trial.The Lancet. Global health · 2021Trial
- Exploring community awareness and perspectives on zoonotic disease in Nepal: a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Can Traditional Health Practitioners Deliver HIV Counseling and Testing Services? A Pilot Study in Rural South Africa.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2025Article
- Perceived usability, acceptability, and feasibility of stool-based qPCR TB diagnostics: perspectives from healthcare providers in Manhiça District, southern Mozambique.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- 'Community people are the most powerful resources': qualitative critical realist analysis and framework to support co-produced responses to zoonotic disease threats with(in) Nepali communities.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Religious and Medical Pluralism Among Traditional Healers in Johannesburg, South Africa.Journal of religion and health · 2024Article
- Engagement with Traditional Healers for Early Detection of Plague in Uganda.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2023Article
- Adaption and pilot testing of a lay HIV supporter program for traditional healers: a mixed methods study in rural Uganda.Implementation science communications · 2023Article
- Tuberculosis management and referral practices among traditional medicine practitioners in Lagos, Nigeria.Journal of public health in Africa · 2023Article
- Pulmonary tuberculosis vs. Tindzhaka and Mafularha: A mixed methods inquiry of traditional healers' perceptions of tuberculosis in rural South Africa.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Understanding traditional healer utilisation for hypertension care using the Andersen model: A qualitative study in Mwanza, Tanzania.Global public health · 2023Article
- Transforming access to care for serious mental disorders in slums (the TRANSFORM Project): rationale, design and protocol.BJPsych open · 2022Article
- Interventions to Increase HIV Testing Uptake in Global Settings.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionDelayed uptake of clinical services impedes favorable clinical outcomes in Mozambique. Care is delayed among patients who initiate care with traditional healers; patients with conditions like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or tuberculosis are rarely referred to the health system in a timely fashion.
methodsWe conducted a pre-post educational intervention with traditional healers, assessing healer referral rates and HIV knowledge in three rural districts in Zambézia Province.
resultsThe median monthly referral rate prior to the intervention was 0.25 patients (interquartile range [IQR]: 0-0.54) compared with a post-intervention rate of 0.34 patients (IQR: 0-0.71), a 35% increase (p=0.046). A median HIV knowledge score of 67% (IQR: 59-78) was noted 4-months pre-intervention and a median score of 81% (IQR: 74-89) was recorded 2½ months post-intervention (p<0.001). One hundred and eleven healers referred 127 adults, 36 pregnant women, and 188 children to health facilities. Referred patients were most likely to be diagnosed with bronchopneumonia (20% adults; 13% children) and/or malaria (15% adults; 37% children). Of 315 non-pregnant persons referred, 3.5% were tested for HIV and 2.5% were tested for tuberculosis. DISCUSSION: We engaged traditional healers with some success; referral rates were low, but increased post-intervention. Once seen in the clinics, patients were rarely tested for HIV or tuberculosis, though symptoms suggested screening was indicated. We found increased referral rates through an inexpensive intervention with traditional healers, a viable, cost-effective method of directing patients to health facilities. However, quality improvement within the clinics is necessary before a substantial impact can be expected.
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