Traditional Medicine Use and Healthworker Training in a Refugee Setting at the Thai-Burma Border

Abstract

More than one million Burmese refugees and forced migrants live in Thailand. Though Western clinical care is the first choice for acute health problems experienced during the forced migration process, our research indicates that traditional medicine continues to be preferred and valued for many common health conditions, as well as for health service training and delivery. Our programme and research on the Thai–Burma border, conducted between 2001 and 2003, included: training of clinic staff in herbal medicine; research on Mae Tao Clinic outpatients' use of and belief in traditional medicine and spiritual practices; and initial work on the development of networks of herbalists in the Thai–Burma border region. Training programmes stimulated the development of several traditional healthcare initiatives and knowledge exchange networks throughout the border region. Outpatient survey findings revealed that 59 refugee respondents listed 271 traditional remedies used for common health conditions. Research on psychosocial health found that separation from ancestral spiritual practices and shrines in the home country may exacerbate and even prolong mental health conditions. The investigations were exploratory and based on small sample sizes and, accordingly, findings are presented in the context of hypothesis generation to guide further study rather than as conclusive outcomes.