Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Jun 2018
The perceived effectiveness of traditional and faith healing in the treatment of mental illness: a systematic review of qualitative studies.
This 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. ⋯ Patients 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.