• A S J van der Watt, T van de Water, G Nortje, B D Oladeji, S Seedat, O Gureje, and Partnership for Mental Health Development in Sub-Saharan Africa (PaM-D) Research Team.
• Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Francie van Zijl Drive, Tygerberg, South Africa. bertevdwatt@sun.ac.za.
• Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2018 Jun 1; 53 (6): 555-566.

PurposeThis work complements a quantitative review by Nortje et al. (Lancet Psychiatry 3(2):154-170, 2016) by exploring the qualitative literature in regard to the perceived effectiveness of traditional and faith healing of mental disorders.MethodQualitative studies focusing specifically on traditional and/or faith healing practices for mental illness were retrieved from eight databases. Data were extracted  into basic coding sheets to facilitate the assessment of the quality of eligible papers using the COREQ.ResultsSixteen articles met the inclusion criteria. Despite methodological limitations, there was evidence from the papers that stakeholders perceived traditional and/or faith healing to be effective in treating mental illness, especially when used in combination with biomedical treatment.ConclusionPatients will continue to seek treatment from traditional and/or faith healers for mental illness if they perceive it to be effective regardless of alternative biomedical evidence. This provides opportunities for collaboration to address resource scarcity in low to middle income countries.

12 keywords...

hide…