ArticleThe American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene2020
Factors Motivating Traditional Healer versus Biomedical Facility Use for Treatment of Pediatric Febrile Illness: Results from a Qualitative Study in Southwestern Uganda.
Article in The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- How informal healthcare providers improve uptake of HIV testing: qualitative results from a randomized controlled trial.AIDS (London, England) · 2022Trial
- Integrating traditional healers into the emergency care continuum in Uganda: a missed opportunity?African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 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
- Barriers and facilitators of parental healthcare-seeking for sick young infants with possible serious bacterial infection in Ethiopia: a qualitative study using a socio ecological model.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Understanding the perspective of traditional healers on their role within the Malawian healthcare system: a qualitative study in Thyolo District.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Article
- Integrated approaches to improve the nutritional status of children under five: a positive deviance hearth model in Bomet county, Kenya.BMC nutrition · 2026Article
- Knowledge, attitudes, and perceived barriers to seeking treatment for tuberculosis and diabetes in Ghana: a survey on world tuberculosis day.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- African traditional medicine: historical legacy, colonial disruption, and pathways for integration into modern healthcare.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Prevalence of malaria infection and associated factors among children under five years attending health facilities in the Nandom Municipality, Upper West Region, Ghana.Malaria journal · 2025Article
- Harnessing traditional healers role in strengthening Africa's public health response: A case study of Mpox outbreak.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Barriers in an East African refugee camp: applying the three delays framework to pediatric surgical care.Pediatric surgery international · 2025Article
- Health and eHealth Literacy of Patients With Diabetes in Low-Income Countries: Perspective From Guinea and Burkina Faso.JMIR diabetes · 2024Article
- Exploring the barriers to healthcare access among persons with disabilities: a qualitative study in rural Luuka district, Uganda.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Practices and attitudes of herbalists regarding informed consent in Uganda: a qualitative study.BMC medical ethics · 2024Article
- Traditional healers' knowledge and infection control practices related to HIV in Bukavu City, Democratic Republic of the Congo.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Factors influencing fever care-seeking for children under five years of age in The Gambia: a secondary analysis of 2019-20 DHS data.Malaria journal · 2024Article
- Assessment of Health-Related Quality of Life in Adults Living with HIV Attending Antiretroviral Clinics versus Traditional Healers' Offices in Bukavu City, Democratic Republic of the Congo.HIV/AIDS (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Article
- Healthcare-seeking behaviours among mother's having under-five children with severe wasting in Dodoma and Mbeya regions of Tanzania-A qualitative study.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Pathways to care for psychosis in rural Uganda: Mixed-methods study of individuals with psychosis, family members, and local leaders.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2024Article
- Traditional health practitioners' training needs on biomedical knowledge and skills in a South African township.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Febrile illnesses, such as malaria and pneumonia, are among the most common causes of mortality in children younger than 5 years in Uganda outside of the neonatal period. Their impact could be mitigated through earlier diagnosis and treatment at biomedical facilities; however, it is estimated that a large percentage of Ugandans (70-80%) seek traditional healers for their first line of medical care. This study sought to characterize individual and structural influences on health care-seeking behaviors for febrile children. Minimally structured, qualitative interviews were conducted for 34 caregivers of children presenting to biomedical and traditional healer sites, respectively. We identified six themes that shape the pathway of care for febrile children: 1) peer recommendations, 2) trust in biomedicine, 3) trust in traditional medicine, 4) mistrust in providers and therapies, 5) economic resources and access to health care, and 6) perceptions of child health. Biomedical providers are preferred by those who value laboratory testing and formal medical training, whereas traditional healer preference is heavily influenced by convenience, peer recommendations, and firm beliefs in traditional causes of illness. However, most caregivers concurrently use both biomedical and traditional therapies for their child during the same illness cycle. The biomedical system is often considered as a backup when traditional healing "fails." Initiatives seeking to encourage earlier presentation to biomedical facilities must consider the individual and structural forces that motivate seeking traditional healers. Educational programs and cooperation with traditional healers may increase biomedical referrals and decrease time to appropriate care and treatment for vulnerable/susceptible children.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.