ArticleJournal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine2021
Contested or complementary healing paradigms? Women's narratives of COVID-19 remedies in Mwanza, Tanzania.
Article in Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Attitudes and beliefs regarding the use of herbs and supplementary medications with COVID-19: A systematic review.Research in social & administrative pharmacy : RSAP · 2023Pooled it
- Ethnobotanical Survey of Medicinal Plants Utilized by Traditional Healers in Managing Respiratory Tract Infections in the Kagera Region, Tanzania.TheScientificWorldJournal · 2026Article
- Lessons and challenges of practice of traditional medicines as an alternative for COVID-19 vaccine in Tanzania.Journal of public health in Africa · 2025Article
- The role of media and community engagement in COVID-19 vaccinations in Tanzania.Journal of public health in Africa · 2025Article
- Etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of bacteria causing pneumonia among adult patients with signs and symptoms of lower respiratory tract infections during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mwanza, Tanzania: a cross-sectional study.Pneumonia (Nathan Qld.) · 2024Article
- Community responses to corona virus disease (COVID-19) in Africa in the face of "Infodemic": A scoping review.Parasite epidemiology and control · 2024Article
- Experiences and challenges of African traditional medicine: lessons from COVID-19 pandemic.BMJ global health · 2023Article
- COVID-19 vaccination willingness in peri-urban Tanzanian communities: Towards contextualising and moving beyond the individual perspective.SSM - population health · 2023Article
- Review
- Use of home remedies for the treatment and prevention of coronavirus disease: An integrative review.Health science reports · 2023Article
- The folk illness kimeo and "traditional" uvulectomy: an ethnomedical study of care seeking for children with cough and weakness in Dar es Salaam.Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine · 2022Article
- Women's Narratives about COVID-19, Preventive Practices and Sources of Information in Northwestern Tanzania.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCOVID-19 has caused worldwide fear and uncertainty. Historically, the biomedical disease paradigm established its dominance in tackling emerging infectious illnesses mainly due to innovation in medication and advances in technology. Traditional and religious remedies have emerged as plausible options for prevention and treatment of COVID-19, especially in Africa and Asia. The appeal of religious and traditional therapies against COVID-19 in the African setting must be understood within the historical, social, and political context. This study explored how women and community members dealt with suspected symptoms of COVID-19 in Mwanza, Tanzania.
methodsThis study was conducted in Nyamagana and Ilemela districts of Mwanza, Tanzania, between July and August 2020. We conducted 18 mobile phone in-depth interviews with a purposively selected sample of women aged 27-57 years participating in an existing longitudinal study. For safety reasons, smart mobile phones were used to collect the data. Each interview was audio recorded after obtaining verbal consent from the participants. The audio files were transferred to computers for analysis. Four researchers conducted a multistage, inductive analysis of the data.
resultsParticipants reported wide use and perceived high efficacy of traditional remedies and prayer to prevent and treat suspected symptoms of COVID-19. Use was either alone or combined with public health recommendations such as hand washing and crowd avoidance. Despite acknowledging that a pathogen causes COVID-19, participants attested to the relevance and power of traditional herbal medication and prayer to curb COVID-19. Four main factors underline the symbolic efficacy of the traditional and religious treatment paradigms: personal, communal, and official reinforcement of their efficacy; connection to local knowledge and belief systems; the failure of biomedicine to offer a quick and effective solution; and availability.
conclusionsIn the context of emerging contagious illnesses, communities turn to resilient and trusted treatment paradigms to quell fear and embrace hope. To tackle emerging infections effectively, it is essential to engage the broader sociopolitical landscape, including communal considerations of therapeutic efficacy.
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.