Indigenous Traditional Healthcare Practices and Acceptance of Mainstream Healthcare Services

Abstract

Undeniably, Indigenous people's (traditional) healthcare practices often proffer great importance to social health alongside the knowledge of longevity for current and future generations and an indelible part of modern Bioprospecting. In response to this issue, this study explores the traditional healthcare practices among Orang Asli (OA) while understanding their acceptance and integration of the modern public mainstream healthcare system. A qualitative study was conducted on 13 OAs residents in Selangor region. The findings revealed that traditional health care practices considered a core of their identity, culture, and heritages comprised of native intelligence and ecological knowledge instead of scientific and technological approaches. Participants reported a mixed perception of adopting modern healthcare practices and viewed modern mainstream healthcare practices as a final remedy for a life-threatening illness. However, they demonstrated a sensitive reaction in combining it into their life practices due to toxicity and negative modernization.