Spiritual Healers’ Explanatory Models of Intellectual Disability in Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

Intellectual disability is common in low- and middle-income countries, but there are few healthcare services available. As part of a larger study, we investigated spiritual healers’ beliefs about intellectual disability and family support in Cape Town, South Africa. All eight healers interviewed believed that the church has a role to play in assisting families of children with intellectual disability, but many held misconceptions about this condition. These findings show that there is an opportunity to engage with and further empower spiritual healers in this context, and probably in other, similar contexts, to do more to assist families with children with intellectual disability.