SynthesisSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2015
Traditional and religious healers in the pathway to care for people with mental disorders in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04671225 (Psychoeducation for Patients With Bipolar Disorder in Rwanda), which is not on this map. Cited by 108 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Psychoeducation for Patients With Bipolar Disorder in Rwanda
Who cites it
108 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 219 citations in OpenAlex.
- Structural and health system determinants of mental health in Tanzania: mapping policy recommendations to the WHO comprehensive mental health action plan 2013-2030.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Pathways to mental health services across local health systems in sub-Saharan Africa: Findings from a systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness, barriers, and facilitators of interventions delivered by traditional healers for the treatment of common mental disorders: A systematic review.Transcultural psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Early Intervention in Psychosis and Management of First Episode Psychosis in Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2024Pooled it
- Religiosity and spirituality in the prevention and management of depression and anxiety in young people: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Implementation and use of the Mental Health Gap Action Programme Intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG): A review of the grey literature.Journal of global health · 2021Pooled it
- Antipsychotic Medication in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of clinical psychopharmacologyPooled it
- Contextualising Mental Privacy in South Africa: Legal, Ethical, and Socio-Cultural Considerations With Policy Recommendations.Developing world bioethics · 2026Article
- Application of the Three Delays Framework to Assess Barriers to Surgical Care in an East African Refugee Camp: A Cross-sectional Survey Among 1,135 Adults.The Journal of surgical research · 2026Article
- A Critical Literature Review of Health Inequalities, Cultural Exclusion, and the Case for a Culturally Appropriate Digital Health Promotion App for Black Communities in England.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Perspectives of Traditional Healers, Religious Leaders, and Biomedical Providers on Depression and HIV Care in Rural Uganda.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Experiences and Views of African Australian Consumers on the Role of Spirituality, Religion and Culture on Mental Health.International journal of mental health nursing · 2026Article
- Untreated Psychosis and Healthcare-Seeking Behaviour in Pakistan: A Qualitative Study With Young People, Carers, Traditional Healers, and Healthcare Professionals.Early intervention in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Factors influencing referral pathways and collaboration between traditional and mental health practitioners in Sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Review
- 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
- Disability-related care trajectories in a pluralistic health system: a qualitative study in urban Sierra Leone.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Real-world comprehensive care of people living with schizophrenia: recommendations across different settings and clinical stages.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2026Article
- Pathways to Mental Health Care: The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Help Seeking for Psychosis.Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Review
- Parkinson's through a cultural lens: Diversity in disease expression and care.Journal of Parkinson's disease · 2026Review
48 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
purposeIn resource-limited contexts in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), a considerable proportion of individuals seeking care for mental disorders consult traditional and religious healers in their pathway to mental health care. Reports from Africa suggest that early involvement of healers may result in delays in the care pathway; a potential barrier to early identification and intervention.
methodsA systematic review was conducted to evaluate the proportion of patients attending formal health services after making first contact for treatment of mental disorders with traditional or religious healers or other informal and formal care providers within published research in Africa. Electronic databases were searched for the period from January 1990 to February 2014. Quality assessment of included studies was conducted the SAQOR tool.
resultsFourteen papers were identified with data on category of first care provider. Utilizing random effects modelling with inverse variance method, the pooled proportion of participants making first contact for treatment of mental disorders with two broadly categorised providers (informal and formal) was 48.1 % (95 % CI 36.4-60.0 %) and 49.2 % (95 % CI 38.0-60.4 %), respectively. The pooled proportion of participants making first contact with specific providers was: traditional healers (17.0 %, 95 % CI 10.9-24.1 %); religious healers (26.2 %, 95 % CI 18.1-35.1 %); general health services (24.3 %, 95 % CI 16.9-32.5 %); and mental health services (13.0 %, 95 % CI 5.1-23.5 %). Substantial regional variation in patterns of first provider choice was evident.
conclusionsConclusions of this review must be qualified in the light of several limitations. Approximately half of individuals seeking formal health care for mental disorders in Africa, choose traditional and religious healers as their first care provider. Previous reports suggest that this choice is associated with delays in accessing formal mental health services. Strategies to improve pathways to mental health care in Africa must include innovative programmes aimed at fostering collaboration between biomedical mental health services and these key community-based providers.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.