Abstract
BackgroundLittle is known about the use of bush medicine and traditional healing among Aboriginal Australians for their treatment of cancer and the meanings attached to it. A qualitative study that explored Aboriginal Australians' perspectives and experiences of cancer and cancer services in Western Australia provided an opportunity to analyse the contemporary meanings attached and use of bush medicine by Aboriginal people with cancer in Western AustraliaMethodsData collection occurred in Perth, both rural and remote areas and included individual in-depth interviews, observations and field notes. Of the thirty-seven interviews with Aboriginal cancer patients, family members of people who died from cancer and some Aboriginal health care providers, 11 participants whose responses included substantial mention on the issue of bush medicine and traditional healing were selected for the analysis for this paper.ResultsThe study findings have shown that as part of their healing some Aboriginal Australians use traditional medicine for treating their cancer. Such healing processes and medicines were preferred by some because it helped reconnect them with their heritage, land, culture and the spirits of their ancestors, bringing peace of mind during their illness. Spiritual beliefs and holistic health approaches and practices play an important role in the treatment choices for some patients.ConclusionsService providers need to acknowledge and understand the existence of Aboriginal knowledge (epistemology) and accept that traditional healing can be an important addition to an Aboriginal person's healing complementing Western medical treatment regimes. Allowing and supporting traditional approaches to treatment reflects a commitment by modern medical services to adopting an Aboriginal-friendly approach that is not only culturally appropriate but assists with the cultural security of the service.
Highlights
Indigenous Peoples' concept of health and survival is both the collective and individual inter-generational continuum encompassing a holistic perspective incorporating four distinct shared dimensions of life, which are the spiritual, intellectual, physical, and emotional
Previous research confirming the use of traditional medicines[6,7] by Indigenous people have recognized that failure to understand and communicate about such usage may result in patients' dissatisfaction and non-compliance with existing biomedical treatment services[8,9]
This paper provides an overview of the use of bush medicine and traditional healing amongst Aboriginal Australians for their treatment of cancer and the meaning attached to it and argues for health service providers to recognize its importance in the life of Aboriginal people, especially during consultation
Summary
This project was developed in response to a need identified by health service providers for greater understanding of Aboriginal Australians' beliefs, understanding and experiences of cancer, cancer care and treatment[34]. A lot of these are very spiritual stuff that Aboriginal people have known for millennia," [Urban female participant] Bush medicines and traditional healing approaches are compatible with other complementary, alternative and integrative medicines, of which the use is increasing among patients with cancer, with the average prevalence rate of 31.4 percent in the Australian population[38]. Participants who grew up in Western society and had been exposed to Western education had access to modern technologies and information systems and a reasonable knowledge of the cancer that troubled their family member Many of these people did not try to look for bush medicine and traditional healing. The conflict between the use of western and traditional healing meant patients had to make choices, presumably based upon their relative confidence in what each treatment would offer: "I tried [bush medicine], but, yeah, I think it reacts with all my tablets I'm taking."
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