Attitudes and knowledge of nurse practitioners towards traditional healing, faith healing and complementary medicine in the Northern Province of South Africa

K Peltzer,L.B Khoza

doi:10.4102/curationis.v25i2.749

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the attitudes and knowledge of nurses towards traditional healing, faith healing and complementary therapies in the Northern Province in South Africa. Design: Survey of nurses. Setting: Registered professional nurses at health centres and clinics. Participants: 84 registered professional nurses Results: Nurse’s perceptions were basically positive toward ethnomedical therapy (traditional healing, faith healing and complementary medicine); this also included their integration into the primary health care system. Mean ratings for referral to a faith healer was 2.7, followed by complementary medicine (2.6) and traditional healing (2.2). Although low rates of referrals to ethnomedical therapists were practised, it was done so mainly in the patient’s interest and not as a last resort for chronic or terminal illness. Most did not discuss with a patient benefits of traditional healing but 71% discussed the possible harmful effects. However, the majority discussed the benefits rather than harmful effects of faith healing. With respect to mean ratings on knowledge, faith healing was considered the most important (4.3), followed by complementary medicine (4.2), and traditional healing (4.1). Conclusion: Faith healing was considered as more important than complementary medicine and traditional healing. Implications are relevant for nursing health care and policy.

Highlights

There is som e resurgence of interest in traditional healing methods as practised by indigenous South Africans (Free man & M otsei 1992: 1183)
One the one hand so-called ethnomedical methods were seen as quackery by 41 % for faith healing, 4 6 % traditional healing and 49% for com plem entary healing, and on the other hand 69% felt that traditional healing held prom ise for the treatment o f symptoms, conditions, and/or diseases, 65% for faith heal ing and 64% for complementary medicine, respectively
The overwhelming majority of the nurse practitioners felt that the integration of faith heal ing (98%), traditional healing (93%) and complementary m edi cine (77%) into the national health care system had some posi tive impact on patient satisfaction

Summary

Introduction

There is som e resurgence of interest in traditional healing methods as practised by indigenous South Africans (Free man & M otsei 1992: 1183). Traditional and west ern health care systems have operated side-by-side in South Africa since the advent of the Europeans, western healing has enjoyed greater form al (i.e. official) acceptance by successive previous governm ents because it was seen to interest o f people who use all types of healers. The Recon struction and Development Programme (RDP) must aim to im prove communication, understanding and cooperation between different types of healers (African National Congress 1994b: 3 5.). Sim bayeand duToit (1998: 8) have investigated the perceptions on integration of traditional and western healing in the new South Africa. Different stakeholders (psychiatrists, medical doctors, psychologists, traditional healers and con sumers) favoured the formal cooperation option for the intebe based on scientific and rational knowledge.

Methods

Results

Conclusion