OBJECTIVE The primary objective of our research was to explore help-seeking behavior in the context of knowledge, attitude, and practice as factors contributing to delay in presentation in leprosy. The secondary objective was to demonstrate the value of basic qualitative research methods in this context. METHODOLOGY Fieldwork was based at the Hospital Mennonita Km 81, the referral center for ...

BACKGROUND Qualitative evidence on dialogue formation and collaboration is very scanty in Kenya. This study thus aimed at the formation of dialogue and establishment of collaboration among the informal (faith and traditional healers) and formal health workers (clinicians) in enhancing community-based mental health in rural Kenya. METHODS Qualitative approach was used to identify barriers and ...

In many communities of South Africa, traditional healers are often the only means of health care delivery available. The level of knowledge and ability to recognize oral lesions of 32 traditional healers and 17 care-givers were assessed after a two-day workshop. The data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire, complimented by enlarged clinical photographs of the common oral manife...

BACKGROUND Malaria infection accounts for over one million deaths worldwide annually. India has the highest number of malaria deaths outside Africa, with half among Indian tribal communities. Our study sought to identify barriers to malaria control within tribal populations in malaria-endemic Gadchiroli district, Maharashtra. METHODS AND FINDINGS This qualitative study was conducted via focus...

To the Editor: It is my opinion that meaningful co-operation between traditional healers and scientific medical practice is impossible, because of the fundamental difference in the concept of disease causation that underlies the practice of both sides. The articles in the insert to the SAMJ of December 1994 ('Bridging the gap') provided a welcome explanation of the way in which the traditional ...

G lobal mental health is primarily concerned with reducing inequalities in the access to health care and health outcomes for people with mental illness within and between countries (1). Reducing the vast treatment gap and promoting the rights of people with mental illness to live with dignity are major goals of adherents of the field such as the Movement for Global Mental Health (www.globalment...

A recent position paper by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stresses that surveillance is critical to an effective defense against new and reemerg-ing infectious diseases and indicates that current international monitoring of such diseases is fragmentary and inadequate (1). Other major studies have also recorded the weaknesses in the present disease reporting system (2-4). T...