ArticleSouth African journal of psychology = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir sielkunde2023
Perceptions of causes and treatment of mental illness among traditional health practitioners in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Article in South African journal of psychology = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir sielkunde, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Understanding psychotrauma in Sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review of clinical and sociocultural perspectives.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- 'Mental health was always the last; always an afterthought': policy analysis of domestic financing and prioritisation for mental health in Ghana.BJPsych open · 2026Review
- PATIENT PATHWAYS TO UGANDA'S FIRST SPECIALISED EARLY INTERVENTION IN PSYCHOSIS SERVICE AND RELATION TO THEIR CLINICAL OUTCOMES.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 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
- Social support as leverage? A quantitative study of social support as a mediator of the relationship between disability/activity limitations and psychological distress among young adults in Ghana.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Stigma, culture, and mental health help-seeking among Black African immigrants in the United States: an integrative literature review.Cogent mental health · 2026Review
- The Role of Stigma in Help-Seeking Strategies Among African Migrants in Australia: A Qualitative Study.International journal of mental health nursing · 2025Article
- Understanding the mental health of adolescents and young adults in rural South Africa through participatory research.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Perspectives on health, illness, disease and management approaches among Baganda traditional spiritual healers in Central Uganda.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Mental Healthcare Consumers' Experiences of Mental Health Care: Variation in Knowledge by the Family Members and Support.SAGE open nursingArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Mental disorders are among the most poorly treated illnesses in sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated that 70%-80% of South Africans consult traditional health practitioners for the treatment of psychological ailments. As traditional health practitioners maintain a strong role in assessing and treating patients with mental illness in this context, this study contributes to the burgeoning research literature on the topic. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 traditional health practitioners in Johannesburg, South Africa, between January and May 2022. Interviews were transcribed and translated into English. The data were managed using NVivo 12 software and thematically analysed. Traditional health practitioners interviewed generally perceived mental illness to be of supernatural causation, either as a result of bewitchment, a calling for patients to become THPs themselves, due to displeased ancestors, or due to natural causes. Traditional health practitioners identified eight primary treatments that they use for treating mental illness. Among these were throwing of bones (
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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.