SynthesisBMJ open2024
Traditional healing practices, factors influencing to access the practices and its complementary effect on mental health in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Structural and health system determinants of mental health in Tanzania: mapping policy recommendations to the WHO comprehensive mental health action plan 2013-2030.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Utilization of Local Healing Practices Among Patients Admitted to a Remote Tertiary Care Hospital in Eastern Bhutan: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- The Hidden Burden of Parkinson's Disease in Cambodia: A Call to Action.Public health challenges · 2026Article
- Factors influencing referral pathways and collaboration between traditional and mental health practitioners in Sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Review
- Systemic path to global health 2050.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2026Article
- 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
- Sustaining Health Promotion and Education to Build Resilient Communities: Lessons from Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Ethnobotanical documentation and conservation assessment of medicinal plants used by the Somali community in Karamara forest patches, Eastern Ethiopia.Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine · 2026Article
- The role of traditional healers and barriers to collaboration with biomedical providers in mental health service delivery in Wakiso district, Uganda: a qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Stakeholder Consensus on Strategies for Collaboration Between Traditional and Biomedical Mental Health Services in Post-Conflict Tigray, Ethiopia.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Addressing communication dynamics in traditional medicine use disclosure to physicians.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2026Article
- Social Support, Traditional Care Practices, and Mental Health in Rural Ecuadorian Youth.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- African traditional medicine: historical legacy, colonial disruption, and pathways for integration into modern healthcare.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Barriers to Chronic Disease Healthcare Access in Rural Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Psychological and social risk factors and mental health interventions in tuberculous meningitis: A research progress.World journal of psychiatry · 2025Review
- "Trust and suspicion" client and provider perspectives on the acceptability of medication for opioid use disorder among people who inject drugs in Kampala, Uganda.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Harnessing traditional healers role in strengthening Africa's public health response: A case study of Mpox outbreak.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Bridging the mental health gap in Chad: a call to action.BMJ global health · 2025Review
- Article
- Reflections on mental health,African journal of disability · 2025Article
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesIn areas with limited and unaffordable biomedical mental health services, such as sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), traditional healers are an incredibly well-used source of mental healthcare. This systematic review synthesises the available evidence on traditional healing practices, factors to access it and its effectiveness in improving people's mental health in SSA.
designSystematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses approach. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL and Scopus studies published before 1 December 2022. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Qualitative and quantitative studies reported traditional healing practices to treat mental health problems in SSA countries published in English before 1 December 2022. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Data were extracted using Covidence software, thematically analysed and reported using tables and narrative reports. The methodological quality of the included papers was evaluated using Joanna Briggs Institute quality appraisal tools.
resultsIn total, 51 studies were included for analysis. Traditional healing practices included faith-based (spiritual or religious) healing, diviner healing practices and herbal therapies as complementary to other traditional healing types. Objectively measured studies stated that people's mental health improved through collaborative care of traditional healing and biomedical care services. In addition, other subjectively measured studies revealed the effect of traditional healing in improving the mental health status of people. Human rights abuses occur as a result of some traditional practices, including physical abuse, chaining of the patient and restriction of food or fasting or starving patients. Individual, social, traditional healers, biomedical healthcare providers and health system-related factors were identified to accessing traditional healing services.
conclusionAlthough there is no conclusive, high-level evidence to support the effectiveness of traditional healing alone in improving mental health status. Moreover, the included studies in this review indicated that traditional healing and biomedical services collaborative care improve people's mental health. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42023392905.
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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.