Traditional healing experiences in patients attending a university outpatient clinic

ABSTRACT

Traditional medicine is one of the two major health systems in Saudi Arabia. In this study, patients who are attending the Psychiatric clinic at the University Hospital for the first time are asked about their experiences concerning traditional healing according to a specifically designed data gathering sheet. Women used traditional medicine more often, but education and employment did not seem to play a role in the choice of traditional medicine over modern medicine. The most common traditional diagnosis was the evil eye, and the most rendered treatment was reading the Koran. Both traditional and psychiatric diagnoses were equally distributed in both sexes and psychiatrists did not seem to agree with traditional healers to group certain symptoms to form a diagnosis. Also, psychiatric disorders were found to have a similar distribution in traditional and non-traditional medicine users