PMID: 8607046Dec 1, 1995Paper

Eye care knowledge and practices among Malawian traditional healers and the development of collaborative blindness prevention programmes

Social Science & Medicine
Paul Courtright

Abstract

Many African traditional healers provide treatment for eye diseases, yet there is little published information about eye care knowledge and practices among these healers; the information is necessary for the development of collaborative eye care activities with healers. Focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and a representative sample survey of 107 randomly selected traditional healers in Chikwawa District, Malawi were conducted regarding eye care knowledge and practices. In the survey 68% of healers treated at least one of six common eye conditions. The most common eye condition treated by healers was cataract, followed by conjunctivitis/inflammatory trachoma. The size of the healer's practice, literacy, and great distance to a health facility were positively associated with the provision of eye care. Traditional healers have considerably more eye care interactions with the rural population than existing biomedical health personnel in Chikwawa District. Interviews revealed that most healers were aware of the availability of treatment for common eye conditions at biomedical health facilities and were interested in collaborating with existing biomedical eye care providers. We subsequently developed a collaborative eye ca...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jun 5, 2004·Social Science & Medicine·Ina VandebroekNorbert De Kimpe
Sep 20, 2005·The British Journal of Ophthalmology·A K PoudyalS Wakai
Feb 21, 2006·The British Journal of Ophthalmology·J Hubley, C Gilbert
Mar 20, 2013·BMC Health Services Research·Rènée du ToitPaul Courtright
Jun 7, 2014·Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering·Nicholas J DurrDaryl Lim
Mar 20, 2015·Journal of Community Health·O C ArinzeC M Chuka-Okosa
Mar 7, 2014·Ophthalmic Epidemiology·M Schulze SchweringKhumbo Kalua
Sep 2, 2016·Clinical & Experimental Optometry : Journal of the Australian Optometrical Association·Hlupheka Lawrence Sithole
Aug 5, 2020·Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology·William MitchellTim Henderson
Sep 19, 2007·The Medical Journal of Australia·Susan M Wearne

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