ReviewAfrican journal of primary health care & family medicine2019
Indigenous and faith healing for mental health in Ghana: An examination of the literature on reported beliefs, practices and use of alternative mental health care in Ghana.
Review in African journal of primary health care & family medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trial
- Living with type 2 diabetes: stress and daily life challenges among adults in the Ashanti Region, Ghana.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Perceptions, Reporting, and Responses to Depression Among Black Sub-Saharan African Immigrant Adults in the United States: A Scoping Review.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2026Review
- Experiences, support networks, and resilience among women after stillbirth in Ghana: a qualitative study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Illness explanatory models of depression among young people in low-resource settings: A qualitative study in Ghana and Zimbabwe.PloS one · 2026Article
- Experiences and perspectives on traditional and faith healers' involvement in the care of people with severe mental health conditions in ethiopia: a scoping review.International journal of mental health systems · 2025Review
- Caregivers' Experience of Supporting Deaf Adults with Mental Health Disorders in Ghana.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- mHealth and Digital Innovations as Catalysts for Transforming Mental Health Care in Ghana.Global health, science and practice · 2024Article
- Mental health services for the deaf: an exploratory study of the aetiology, sources of information, and access to mental health services among deaf persons in Ghana.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Knowledge and use of art therapy for mental health treatment among clinical psychologists.PloS one · 2024Article
- Exploring the role of religion in the recovery experiences of suicide attempt survivors in Ghana.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- A Qualitative Exploration of Causes of Depression among Persons Living with HIV Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy in Uganda: Implications for Policy.Psychiatry journal · 2023Article
- Mental health difficulties, coping mechanisms and support systems among school-going adolescents in Ghana: A mixed-methods study.PloS one · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundFor many people in African countries, various forms of health care are utilised for the treatment of illness. This pluralistic nature of health seeking includes the use of indigenous, faith and allopathic medicines for care.
aimIn this article, our aim was to gain insight into the existing knowledge on indigenous and faith healing in Ghana, with a particular focus on mental health care. We first examine the reported mental health beliefs and practices of Ghanaian alternative healers. Following this, we look at the use and purported preference for non-biomedical mental health care by patients.
methodsRelevant literature was examined to explore the beliefs, practices and use of non-biomedical mental health care systems in GhanaResults: Evidence for the use and preference for non-biomedical mental health care is largely anecdotal. Similarly, the mental health beliefs of alternative healers have been documented in various small-scale studies. However, such information is important if mental health services in Ghana are to be improved.
conclusionIntegration of the different healthcare systems must be built on knowledge of beliefs and methods. A clearer understanding of the work of non-biomedical healers is important if appropriate recommendations are to be made for collaboration between biomedical and non-biomedical systems in Ghana.
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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.