ArticleJournal of religion and health2024
Religious and Medical Pluralism Among Traditional Healers in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Article in Journal of religion and health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 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
16 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- High Awareness, Poor Practice: The Cholera Prevention Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Gap in Ada Foah, Ghana-A Cross-Sectional Study.Public health challenges · 2026Article
- Early esophageal cancer diagnosis in Central Oromia, Ethiopia: patient and provider perspectives on barriers and facilitators.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Perspectives of Traditional Healers, Religious Leaders, and Biomedical Providers on Depression and HIV Care in Rural Uganda.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Improving Cancer Awareness and Knowledge in Johannesburg and iLembe Districts Through a Tailored Community-Based Educational Intervention: A Pilot Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- The belief that certain illnesses can only be treated by traditional healers: a qualitative study exploring the 'traditional illness' Xifula in Limpopo, South Africa.Acta neuropsychiatrica · 2026Article
- Intellectual Disability Support: Traditional Healers' Views on Collaboration with Western-Trained Healthcare Practitioners.Transcultural psychiatry · 2026Article
- Navigating sociocultural practices and traditions in HIV management: a review of African cultural barriers to achieving sustainable development goal target 3.3.Frontiers in epidemiology · 2026Review
- Health-seeking behaviour, health service delivery and its perceived impact among stroke survivors in Sierra Leone: a longitudinal qualitative study embedded in the SISLE project.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Perceived readiness of South African community service speech-language therapists to manage complex paediatric dysphagia.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings · 2025Article
- Health seeking by people living with non-communicable diseases in a pluralistic health system: the role of informal healthcare providers.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Understanding Health Inequality, Disparity and Inequity in Africa: A Rapid Review of Concepts, Root Causes, and Strategic Solutions.Public health challenges · 2025Review
- Raising awareness and addressing inequities for people with Down syndrome in South Africa.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Post-traumatic stress disorder and body satisfaction among patients at Ruhigita clinic, Bukavu (DRC): an observational study.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Perspectives on health, illness, disease and management approaches among Baganda traditional spiritual healers in Central Uganda.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Perceptions of causes and treatment of mental illness among traditional health practitioners in Johannesburg, South Africa.South African journal of psychology = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir sielkunde · 2023Article
- Community perspectives on hepatitis B transmission and vaccination among adults in Northwest Ethiopia: a qualitative study.Therapeutic advances in infectious diseaseArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Religion and spirituality are powerful social forces in contemporary South Africa. Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs) are commonly consulted for both spiritual and medical ailments as a first line of care. Many studies have assessed African traditional health seeking behaviors but few have examined beliefs, practices, and behaviors of THPs themselves. This study sought to explore spiritual worldviews among South African THPs. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 THPs in Johannesburg, South Africa between January and May, 2022. Interviews were transcribed and translated into English. Data were managed using NVivo 12 software and thematically analyzed. The majority of THPs interviewed indicated that initiation as a THP was almost always preceded by a sickness accompanied by dreams/visions that represented an "ancestral calling" to become a healer. Most THPs also trained as both sangomas-who healed according to traditional beliefs-and prophets-who healed according to Christian beliefs. This reflects a syncretic relationship between traditional African beliefs and Christianity. However, not all churches are accepting of traditional beliefs and subsequently these THPs are members only at non-Pentecostal AIC churches who blend both African and Christian practices. Similar to these forms of religious pluralism melding Christianity and traditional beliefs, many THPs also often practice medical pluralism, mixing Western treatments with traditional practices/medicines. THPs are able to adapt elements of Western and African beliefs into healing practices that span multiple religious and medical fields. Thus, collaborative and decentralized healthcare services may be highly acceptable among such a pluralistic community.
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.