Belief In Supernatural Causation Research Articles

PROFESSIONAL NURSES’ EXPERIENCES OF MANAGING EPILEPSY AT LIMITED RESOURCE RURAL FACILITIES IN LIMPOPO AND MPUMALANGA PROVINCES, SOUTH AFRICA

BackgroundEpilepsy is a neurological disorder affecting approximately 50 million individuals globally, contributing significantly to the global disease burden. Professional nurses play a crucial role in the care and treatment of people living with epilepsy, ensuring their safety and well-being. Professional nurses frequently encounter challenges, such as restricted access to drugs, specialised equipment, and epilepsy treatment training. Despite these obstacles, professional nurses are essential to providing high-quality care to patients with epilepsy in remote locations. MethodsA qualitative design using explorative, descriptive, and contextual design was employed to achieve the objectives of the study. The sample comprised 20 professional nurses working in selected rural communities in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Data was collected through in-depth individual interviews and analysed using Tesch's eight steps of data analysis. ResultsFour themes emerged from the data: experiences of professional nurses during management of epilepsy; inadequate training in management of epilepsy; insufficient supply of antiepileptic drugs and late presentation to local clinics. ConclusionThe study found that professional nurses experienced several challenges hindering the effective management of epilepsy. Cultural beliefs in supernatural causes of epilepsy significantly influence treatment preferences, consequently delaying diagnosis and treatment. Despite limited resources and cultural barriers experienced by professional nurses, they strive to provide appropriate care to minimise seizures. Ongoing education and training on epilepsy management is vital to enable professional nurses to keep up-to-date with current methods and new developments.

Why Am I Ill? Beliefs in Supernatural and Natural Causes of Ill Health at the Time of Diagnostic Workup of Patients With Esophageal Cancer in Tanzania.

An understanding of the cultural and context-specific perceptions of the causes of cancer is an important prerequisite for designing effective primary health prevention and early detection strategies. We aimed to use the Murdock Ill Health Theoretical Model to conceptualize views on illness causation among dysphagia-suffering patients undergoing diagnostic workup for esophageal cancer (EC) in Tanzania. At the end of a structured interview on lifestyle habits, patients with suspected EC were asked about beliefs on the reasons behind their illness through (1) a set of questions with fixed binary answers, whose determinants were analyzed using logistic regression, and (2) a single question with free-text answers. Responses were coded using a hierarchy of natural and supernatural (godly and social constructs) causes. Among 322 patients interviewed between November 2015 and December 2019, we found complex and varied views about the origins of their illness. Overall, 49% of patients attributed illness to natural causes and 39% to supernatural causes. Natural causes ranged from infection, use of alcohol and tobacco, other ailments, and the environment. The supernatural causes included attributing illness to God, curses, and spells from personal acquaintances. Belief in supernatural causes was more common in the less educated and those who sought help first via a traditional healer. The results underscore the need for increased community awareness of biomedical causes of ill health and patient-based participatory research to inform prevention programs. The results also highlight the importance of building health systems that support a series of health-seeking behaviors that acknowledge both biomedical and local traditional healing belief systems.

Perception about Etiology of Epilepsy and Help-Seeking Behavior in Patients with Epilepsy

Abstract Objectives Patients with epilepsy and their family have diverse beliefs about the cause of their illness that generally determine their treatment-seeking behavior. In this study, our aim was to find out different beliefs about epilepsy that lead to different help-seeking patterns, which act as barrier to the intended modern medical management of epilepsy. Materials and Methods One hundred and fifty consecutive consenting patients accompanied by a reliable informant/family member fulfilling the International Classification of Epileptic Seizures (ICES), simplified version, were included. Demographic and clinical data of all the eligible subjects was collected. Perceived cause of illness and help-seeking pattern were explored from patient/informant by administering proper instruments. Results Respondents identified varied causes of epilepsy and explored multiple help-seeking options before reaching tertiary care centers. We observed that, generally, epileptic patients/relatives who had belief in causes like supernatural causes sought help from nonprofessional personnel and those attributed their symptom to bodily pathology had professional help-seeking. Conclusions The belief in supernatural causes not being conformed to the biomedical models of the epileptic disorders increases the treatment gap.

Caring for children with neurodevelopmental disability: Experiences from caretakers and health workers in rural eastern Uganda.

BackgroundLong term outcomes of children with neurodevelopmental disability are influenced by the condition itself, available health services and caretakers’ coping ability to nurture the children which may be related to their beliefs and experiences. Most children with neurodevelopmental disabilities live in resource constrained settings. To inform design of contextually appropriate interventions, this study explored health workers’ and caretakers’ experiences in caring for infants with neurodevelopmental disability in rural eastern Uganda.MethodsA qualitative case study was carried out in December 2017 and involved in-depth interviews with 14 caretakers of infants with severe neurodevelopmental disability, and five health workers in Iganga/Mayuge Demographic Surveillance Site in eastern Uganda. The interviews with caretakers were conducted in Lusoga, the local language, and in English for the health workers, using a pre-determined open-ended interview guide. Data were analyzed using latent content analysis.ResultsCaretakers described the experience of caring for children with neurodevelopmental disability as impoverishing and ‘imprisoning’ due to high care costs, inability to return to income generating activities and nursing challenges. The latter resulted from failure in body control and several aspects of nutrition and maintaining vital functions, coupled with limited support from the community and the health system. Many caretakers expressed beliefs in supernatural causes of neurodevelopmental disability though they reported about complications during and shortly after the birth of the affected child. Care-seeking was often challenging and impeded by costs and the feeling of lack of improvement. The health care system was also found to be incapable of adequately addressing the needs of such children due to lack of commodities, and human resource limitations.ConclusionThe caretakers expressed a feeling of emotional stress due to being left alone with a high nursing burden. Improvement in the health services including a holistic approach to care, improved community awareness and parental support could contribute to nursing of children with NDD.

Access to health care in African cities: therapeutic pathways of city dwellers with mental health problems in Yaoundé – Cameroon

ABSTRACT There is growing evidence that mental health literacy has improved worldwide in recent years. Despite the high prevalence of mental health problems and disorders, patients mostly in developing societies do not have quick access to adequate treatment. The question arises as to when and where people with mental problems seek help. Objectives: This paper aims at tracing the help-seeking pathways of mental patients, and to identify institutions where people with mental disorders look for help. Data used in this study derived from a longitudinal population survey conducted in urban settings of Cameroon in 2015 and 2017. Using structured questionnaires, the survey assessed socio-demographic details of patients, details of illness, and the various treatment facilities contacted by the patient. Findings indicate that (i) a wide range of treatment options used by the patients vary from no treatment (02.4%) to professional care (34.8%) and faith healers (10.2%); (ii) availability and ease of accessibility (06.9%), recommendations from others, and belief in supernatural causation of illness (29.0%) were the most important reasons for resorting to a particular facility. The emerging pathways to psychiatric care underline the importance of improving awareness through campaigns that will facilitate the recognition of psychiatric disorders, and that family members have a significant role in the decision to seek help from health services.

Discrepancy in perception of infertility and attitude towards treatment options: Indonesian urban and rural area

BackgroundIn Indonesia infertility affects 10–15% of reproductive-age couples. In addition to medical problem, infertility in Indonesia poses significant social problem. Childlessness is often stigmatized as a failure which victimizes couples, moreover the females. Despite the high prevalence, there is no fertility awareness education which further passes down the common myth, misperception, and negative attitude towards infertility treatment in Indonesian society.ObjectiveThis study aims to reveal the knowledge, myth, and attitude towards infertility, likewise acceptance towards infertility treatment options.MethodCross-sectional study using standardized questionnaire was done to 272 individuals consisted of two parallel groups: Jakarta and Sumba representing urban and rural population respectively. Participants were all outpatients above 18 years old who visited the healthcare centers from February 2017 to June 2017.ResultsKnowledge on biological and lifestyle risk factors of infertility among Jakarta and Sumba groups were comparable. However, belief in supernatural causes of infertility is remarkable in Sumba population. There is a common misconception on the use of contraception as risk factors of infertility in both groups.Half respondents from both groups think infertility is a disease. In Jakarta 93.4% respondents consider both female and male should be investigated for infertility; in Sumba only 55.4% agree while 33.1% consider only female should be investigated. Infertility is an acceptable reason for polygamy for 41.3% respondents in Sumba, with 34.7% blaming maternal side for childlessness.Most respondents from both groups accept the use of Assisted Reproductive Technology and fertility enhancing drugs as treatment options.ConclusionLack of understanding, misleading myths, and negative attitude towards infertility have been illustrated in the sample population.

Cultural Differences in Psychosis: The Role of Causal Beliefs and Stigma in White British and South Asians

While previous research has demonstrated the negative impact of stigma in individuals with mental health problems, little is known about cross-cultural differences in experiences and explanations of mental health, in particular in young people, despite the first episode of psychosis often occurring in adolescence. Aim of this study was to examine cultural differences in causal beliefs and stigma toward mental health, in particular psychosis. White British and South Asian young people ( N = 128) from two schools and colleges in the United Kingdom, aged 16 to 20 years, completed a cross-sectional survey. Results revealed significant associations between ethnic group and our dependent measures. White British reported more previous contact with a mental health service as well as with people with mental health problems than South Asians. They also reported lower stigma in form of a greater intentions to engage in contact with people with mental health problems. Furthermore, South Asians reported higher beliefs in supernatural causes of psychosis than White British. Psychotic experiences moderated the effect of ethnic group on supernatural beliefs, with South Asians reporting higher supernatural beliefs than White British when their own psychotic experiences were low to moderate. We discuss the implications of the findings, arguing that a greater culture-sensitive understanding of mental health is important to reach ethnic minorities with psychosis, and to challenge stigma toward psychosis from an early age on.

Human Heredity Now and in the Future

The distinctive human characteristic of curiosity, once liberated from belief in supernatural causes of natural phenomena, has led with increasing speed to the brink of a world in which humanity will increasingly direct its own genetic endowment, raising the question of what we most value in being human and how to keep faith with it.

Supernatural Explanations of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Among Health Care Professionals at an Academic Tertiary Care Hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi society is one of many where supernatural explanations for neurological and psychiatric disorders are prevalent among lay persons. The frequency of such beliefs among health care professionals in this country, however, is unknown. The frequency of supernatural explanations for neurological and psychiatric disorders was assessed in 126 health care professionals at an academic medical center in Jeddah. A high frequency of belief in supernatural factors as a cause for neurological and psychiatric illness, including the evil eye, divine testing and punishment, and sorcery, was found. Younger age and more junior level of training were associated with a higher likelihood of belief in supernatural causation. A surprisingly high prevalence of supernatural explanations was found among these health care professionals, 80% of whom were attending physicians or physicians in training. Future studies should focus on the potential impact of these beliefs on clinical practice.

Attitudes of U.S. Psychiatry Residents and Fellows towards Mental Illness and its Causes: a Comparison Study with Medical Students.

Stigma towards people with mental illness remains a burden for patients and healthcare providers. This study at a large US university examined the attitudes of psychiatry residents and fellows towards mental illness and its causes, and whether their attitudes differed from the medical student attitudes previously studied utilizing the same survey method. An electronic questionnaire examining attitudes toward people with mental illness, causes of mental Illness, and treatment efficacy was used to survey the attitudes of psychiatry residents and fellows. Exploratory factor analysis derived from the authors' medical student survey was used to examine attitudinal factors. The study response rate was 54.2% (n= 94). Factor analysis employed three factors previously identified reflecting social acceptance of mental illness, belief in supernatural causes, and belief in biopsychosocial causes. Residents and fellows reporting more personal experiences with mental illness, both as a group and when compared with medical students, were significantly more willing to socialize with the mentally ill. Respondents who had more professional (work) experience other than medical school or post-graduate training were less likely to believe in supernatural causes of mental illness. Female residents and fellows were more willing to socialize with the mentally ill, and were less likely to believe in supernatural causes for mental illness than their male counterparts. In our study, increased social acceptance of the mentally ill relates to having personal experiences, advanced training in psychiatry, and female gender. Both professional experiences outside of training and female gender reduced the belief in supernatural causes.

Beliefs About the Cause of Schizophrenia Among Caregivers in Midwestern Nigeria.

Schizophrenia is a devastating illness with a chronic and relapsing course. While Western countries may endorse, biological and psychosocial causes more commonly than supernatural causes, non-western cultures like Nigeria in contrast, tend to endorse supernatural causes. Belief in supernatural causes has been reported to have consequences for treatment seeking behavior. This study aimed to examine the causes of schizophrenia reported by family members of outpatients with schizophrenia in a neuropsychiatric hospital in Midwestern Nigeria. In this study, we recruited a convenient sample of 200 consecutive caregivers of patients visiting the outpatient department of the Psychiatric Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria. These primary caregivers were unpaid relatives who provided support to patients. The patients were service users who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Disease [ICD-10; World Health Organization 1993] for schizophrenia and had been on treatment for at least two years. Majority (72.0%) of caregivers endorsed supernatural causes as most important in the etiology of schizophrenia, while 28.0% endorsed natural causes. Every participant without formal education endorsed supernatural attribution. In our study, it was evident that participants embraced multiple causal attributions for schizophrenia.

Beliefs about the cause of schizophrenia among caregivers in Midwestern Nigeria

Schizophrenia is a devastating illness with a chronic and relapsing course. While Western countries may endorse, biological and psychosocial causes more commonly than supernatural causes, non-western cultures like Nigeria in contrast, tend to endorse supernatural causes. Belief in supernatural causes has been reported to have consequences for treatment seeking behavior. This study aimed to examine the causes of schizophrenia reported by family members of outpatients with schizophrenia in a neuropsychiatric hospital in Midwestern Nigeria. In this study, we recruited a convenient sample of 200 consecutive caregivers of patients visiting the outpatient department of the Psychiatric Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria. These primary caregivers were unpaid relatives who provided support to patients. The patients were service users who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Disease [ICD-10; World Health Organization 1993] for schizophrenia and had been on treatment for at least two years. Majority (72.0%) of caregivers endorsed supernatural causes as most important in the etiology of schizophrenia, while 28.0% endorsed natural causes. Every participant without formal education endorsed supernatural attribution. In our study, it was evident that participants embraced multiple causal attributions for schizophrenia.

Attitudes of Students at a US Medical School Toward Mental Illness and Its Causes

Stigma among health care providers toward people with mental illness is a worldwide problem. This study at a large US university examined medical student attitudes toward mental illness and its causes, and whether student attitudes change as they progress in their education. An electronic questionnaire focusing on attitudes toward people with mental illness, causes of mental illness, and treatment efficacy was used to survey medical students at all levels of training. Exploratory factor analysis was used to establish attitudinal factors, and analysis of variance was used to identify differences in student attitudes among these factors. Independent-samples t tests were used to assess attitudes toward efficacy of treatments for six common psychiatric and medical conditions. The study response rate was 42.6% (n = 289). Exploratory factor analysis identified three factors reflecting social acceptance of mental illness, belief in supernatural causes, and belief in biopsychosocial causes. Stages of student education did not differ across these factors. Students who had completed the psychiatry clerkship were more likely to believe that anxiety disorders and diabetes could be treated effectively. Students reporting personal experiences with mental illness showed significantly more social acceptance, and people born outside the USA were more likely to endorse supernatural causes of mental illness. Sociocultural influences and personal experience with mental illness have a greater effect than medical education on attitudes toward people with mental illness. Psychiatric education appears to have a small but significant effect on student attitudes regarding treatment efficacy.

Witchcraft and Biopsychosocial Causes of Mental Illness: Attitudes and Beliefs About Mental Illness Among Health Professionals in Five Countries.

This study examines the intercorrelation of measures reflecting beliefs about and attitudes toward people with mental illness in a sample of health professionals (N = 902) from five countries: Brazil, China, Ghana, Nigeria, and the United States, and, more specifically, the association of beliefs in supernatural as contrasted with biopsychosocial causes of mental illness. Factor analysis of a 43-item questionnaire identified four factors favoring a) socializing with people with mental illness; b) normalizing their roles in society; c) belief in supernatural causes of mental illness (e.g., witchcraft, curses); and d) belief in biopsychosocial causes of mental illness. Unexpectedly, a hypothesized negative association between belief in supernatural and biopsychosocial causation of mental illness was not found. Belief in the biopsychosocial causation was weakly associated with less stigmatized attitudes towards socializing and normalized roles.

Evolution Controversy: A Phenomenon Prompted by the Incompatibility between Science and Religious Beliefs

The incompatibility between science and the belief in supernatural causation helps us understand why people do not accept evolution. Belief disrupts, distorts, delays, or stops (3Ds + S) the acceptance of scientific evidence. Here we examine the evolution controversy under three predictions of the incompatibility hypothesis. First, chronological-conflict-and-accommodation, which explains the historical re-emergence of antagonism between evolution and religion when advances in science continue to threaten the belief in supernatural causation; in such situations, creationists' rejection of and subsequent partial acceptance of the new scientific discoveries are expected. Second, change in evolution's acceptance as function of educational attainment, which explains the positive association between acceptance of evolution and level of education. And third, change in evolution's acceptance as function of religiosity, which explains the negative association between acceptance of evolution and level of religious beliefs. We rely on an ample assessment of the attitudes toward evolution by highly-educated audiences (i.e. research faculty, educators of prospective teachers, and college students in the United States) to characterize the associations among the understanding of science and evolution, personal religious convictions, and conservative ideology. We emphasize that harmonious coexistence between science and religion is illusory. If co-persisting in society, their relationship will fluctuate from moderate to intense antagonism.

Motivation for Psychotherapy and Illness Beliefs in Turkish Immigrant Inpatients in Germany: Results of a Cultural Comparison Study.

Some immigrant populations, for instance, Turkish immigrants, suffer from worse mental health than the general population. Moreover, psychotherapeutic treatment does not work well in this group. This might be explained by lower motivation for psychotherapy and particular illness beliefs as important early predictors of treatment outcome. We investigate differences in these predictors between Turkish immigrant inpatients and inpatients without a migration background and evaluate whether particular illness beliefs have a negative impact on motivation for psychotherapy. Turkish immigrant inpatients and inpatients without a migration background (N = 100), suffering from depressive disorder, somatoform disorder, and/or adjustment disorder, completed questionnaires assessing motivation for psychotherapy, depressive and somatic symptoms, illness perception, illness-related locus of control, and causal illness attributions. Despite a higher symptom burden, motivation for psychotherapy was lower in Turkish immigrant inpatients than in inpatients without a migration background (d = 0.54). This was fully explained by stronger beliefs in supernatural causes of illness and higher fatalistic-external illness-related locus of control in the Turkish immigrant sample (mediation analysis; R (2) = 0.27). Turkish immigrants believe in supernatural or fatalistic causes of illness and fatalistic-external locus of control to a greater extent than German inpatients without a migration background. These beliefs reduce motivation for psychotherapy and need to be addressed in psychotherapeutic treatment in order to secure positive treatment outcomes.

A study of help seeking behavior of psychiatric patients

Background: A large number of mentally ill patients prefer to visit non-medical practitioners such as faith healers becauseof the stigma attached to mental illness and/or belief that mental illness are caused by supernatural powers. Faith healersare more convenient to be approached fi rst because of ease of availability and prevalent cultural belief and persuasion.Objective: The current study aims to fi nd the help seeking behavior of patients suffering from mental illness and whomthey approach fi rst once affected, either psychiatrists or faith healers.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among patients admitted in the psychiatric ward of Kathmandu MedicalCollege Teaching Hospital during 1st January to 30th July 2012. All patients admitted in the ward during that period wereinformed about the purpose of the study and a written informed consent was taken. In case of psychotic patients, theconsent was obtained from nearby relatives.Results: Among 54 patients enrolled in the study, signifi cant number of psychotic patients (n=15) visited faith healersin comparison to only 4 non-psychotic patients. Number of females (n=12) visiting faith healers in comparison to males(n=7) was higher. Patients having belief in black magic were more likely to visit faith healers than those who were nonbelievers.In contrary to the popular belief, patients approaching the faith healers spent more money (>$20) in the treatment thanwho approached psychiatrists (<$20).Conclusion: The study shows that most of the patients suffering from mental illness prefer to approach faith healers fi rstbecause of the prevailing trust on faith healers, because they are locally available and because of a prevailing belief insupernatural causation of mental illness.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jkmc.v2i1.10538 Journal of Kathmandu Medical College, Vol. 2, No. 1, Issue 3, Jan.-Mar., 2013: 21-24

Introduction: Why People Do Not Accept Evolution: Using Protistan Diversity to Promote Evolution Literacy

The controversy evolution vs. creationism is inherent to the incompatibility between scientific rationalism/empiricism and the belief in supernatural causation. To test this hypothesis, we conceptualized a Cartesian landscape where the dependent variable acceptance of evolution was plotted as function of three factors, each represented by an index (value range 0 to 3): Religiosity Index (RI), Science Index (SI), and Evolution Index (EI). The indexes summarized an individual's personal religious convictions, familiarity with the processes and forces of change in organisms (= concept of evolution), and understanding the essence of science (= method to explore reality). We compared and contrasted acceptance of evolution among four populations of variable educational attainment: 244 professors of New England, United States (93% Ph.D./doctorate holders), 50 protistologists from 25 countries (70% Ph.D./doctorate holders), 62 educators of prospective teachers (83% Ph.D./doctorate holders), and 827 college students. The New England faculty held the highest acceptance of evolution position (RI = 0.49; SI = 2.49; EI = 2.49), followed by the protistologists (RI = 0.46; SI = 2.30; EI = 2.48), the educators of prospective teachers (RI = 0.83; SI = 1.96; EI = 1.96), and the students (RI = 0.89; SI = 1.80; EI = 1.60); therefore, the data supported our hypothesis. Proper science education, public outreach and robust debate over the controversy "evolution versus creationism" should suffice to improve society's evolution literacy, and qualified scholars ought to lead this mission.

In Mysterious Ways: On petitionary prayer and subtle forms of supernatural causation

The psychology of prayer and supernatural causation has received surprisingly little attention from empirical researchers. This paper discusses implicit belief patterns about the causal mechanisms by which God effects changes in the world. The authors offer a psychological account of belief in supernatural causation based on the existing empirical literature on petitionary prayer, incorporating mechanisms of psychological self-correction and rationalisation, confirmation bias and folk physics. They propose that religious believers ‘prefer’ modes of divine action that are subtle and indistinguishable from the natural course of events: given that the causal structure of our world is partly inscrutable, beliefs in subtle and unascertainable modes of supernatural causation will be compelling and cognitively appealing because they are more susceptible to occasional confirmation and less vulnerable to repeated disconfirmation. In other words, believers who request supernatural interventions that are subtle and indistinguishable from the natural course of events will have a better chance of finding themselves in a situation in which they can attribute the events in question to God answering their prayers. The authors argue that such individual psychological factors play a role in the cultural transmission of prayer practices as well, leading to culturally widespread beliefs in subtle forms of supernatural causation.

Complementary and alternative medicine in the management of hypertension in an urban Nigerian community

BackgroundHypertension is a common non communicable condition worldwide. In developing countries (including Nigeria), the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is common. This study investigated the frequency and factors associated with use of CAM among hypertensive subjects in an urban Nigerian community. Perspectives about the management of hypertension were obtained from CAM practitioners in the community.MethodsFour hundred and forty hypertensive subjects in Idikan community, Ibadan, were interviewed using a semi-structured survey instrument. Association between categorical variables was tested using the chi-square test. Logistic regression analysis was done to identify independent predictor variables of CAM use, with CAM use as the outcome variable and the demographic and belief items as predictor variables. In-depth interviews were conducted with all known CAM practitioners in the community on issues relating to their beliefs, knowledge, practice and experiences in managing patients with hypertension in the community.ResultsIn the study sample, 29% used CAM in the management of their hypertension. Among those using CAM, the most common forms used were herbs (63%) and garlic (21%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that four variables were independent predictors of CAM use: being male (OR 2.58, p < 0.0001), belief in supernatural causes of hypertension (OR 2.11, p = 0.012), lack of belief that hypertension is preventable (OR 0.57, p = 0.014) and having a family history of hypertension (OR1.78, p = 0.042). Other factors such as age, educational level and occupation were not independent predictors of CAM use. Interviews with CAM practitioners revealed that they believed hypertension was caused by evil forces, stress or "too much blood in the body". They also thought they could cure hypertension but that reduced costs (compared to hospitals) was one of the reasons most of their clients consult them.ConclusionsThe use of CAM is common among hypertensive subjects in this urban Nigerian community. Men were more than twice as likely to use CAM and belief in supernatural causes of hypertension was the most notable belief predicting CAM use. Interviews with CAM practitioners yielded useful perspectives about the role they play in hypertension management in the community. This study adds to the small but growing literature about the use of CAM in hypertension in sub Saharan Africa. Further studies in hypertension and other non communicable disease are needed.