ArticleInternational journal of culture and mental health2018
Closing the Mental Health Treatment Gap through the Collaboration of Traditional and Western Medicine in Liberia.
Article in International journal of culture and mental health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Health Professionals' Attitudes Towards Traditional Healing for Mental Illness: A Systematic Review.International journal of mental health nursing · 2025Pooled it
- Pathways to mental health services across local health systems in sub-Saharan Africa: Findings from a systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Factors Influencing the Integration of Traditional Medicine and Mainstream Medicine in Mental Health Services in West Africa: A Systematic Review Using Narrative Synthesis.Community mental health journal · 2024Pooled it
- Traditional bone setter practices and the interaction with biomedical care in the treatment of hip fractures in The Gambia: A qualitative study.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- When the war never ends: conceptual limitations, contextual differences and implications for interventions in continuous traumatic stress in Sub-Saharan Africa.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Extreme weather events and mental health impacts in West Africa: A systematic review of evidence gaps.Journal of public health in Africa · 2026Review
- Article
- Factors Influencing Primary Care Access for Common Mental Health Conditions Among Adults in West Africa: Protocol for a Scoping Review.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Health professionals' attitudes towards traditional healing for mental illness: A systematic review protocol.PloS one · 2024Article
- The engagement of psychology with complementary medicine: A critical integrative review.Heliyon · 2023Review
- Views and experiences of traditional and Western medicine practitioners on potential collaboration in the care of people living with mental illness in Malawi.Malawi medical journal : the journal of Medical Association of Malawi · 2022Article
- Towards a better understanding of attitudes and beliefs held by traditional healers and recipients of traditional medicine concerning mental health conditions in post-conflict Liberia: a qualitative investigation.African health sciences · 2021Article
- Reassessing the Mental Health Treatment Gap: What Happens if We Include the Impact of Traditional Healing on Mental Illness?Community mental health journal · 2021Article
- The possibilities and challenges of integrative medicine implementation in clinical psychology: a qualitative study in Indonesia.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
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Abstract
Liberians have experienced significant psychological trauma following fourteen years of violent civil war and the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic, but there are only two psychiatrists for the entire population. However, many traditional healers commonly treat mental health-related illnesses throughout the country. This paper examines the potential for collaboration between traditional and Western medicine to close the mental health treatment gap in Liberia. We conducted 35 semi-structured qualitative interviews with Liberian traditional healers and utilizers of traditional medicine asking questions about common health problems, treatments, beliefs, and personal preferences. Participants discussed cultural attitudes, beliefs, and structural factors that may influence collaboration between traditional and Western medicine. Healers expressed willingness to collaborate in order to strengthen their skills, though realized Western physicians were hesitant to collaborate. Additionally, Liberians believed in both medical traditions, though preferred Western medicine. Finally, structural factors such as geographic distance and financial barriers made traditional medicine more accessible than Western medicine. Traditional healers and utilizers support collaboration as evidenced by their perceptions of cultural attitudes, beliefs, and structural factors within the Liberian context. With Liberia's overwhelming mental illness burden, collaboration between traditional healers and Western medicine physicians offers a solution to the treatment gap in Liberian mental health care.
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