Cultural and social construction of illness: The case of Basotho patients’ folk interpretations of their illness experiences

Abstract

This article demonstrates the role played by culture in shaping the individual’s construction of the meaning and experience of illness. It shows how culture plays a significant part in providing valuable insights into an individual’s lived experiences and their perceptions of what constitutes their physical, psychological and/or emotional afflictions. It reveals that Basotho patients express cultural beliefs through idiomatic forms which merely allude to the real nature of their illness(es), and some Sesotho vocabulary that may be difficult to understand, especially when talking about sexually transmitted illnesses or conditions. The results show that cultural differences and taboo topics surrounding sexuality were a major cause of the communication barriers between patients and health care professionals. The article highlights that the cultural and social constructions of the people’s illness experiences offer a valuable window into the unique design and complex nature of their value and belief systems that shape their everyday behaviours and constructions of and reactions to illness. It argues that these value and belief systems have the potential to yield significant insights into the nature or essence of the patients’ cultural explanatory representations of their illness experiences. The article fills the gap that exists vis-a-vis the impact of subjective experiences and social constructions of health and illness among Basotho adults.