ABSTRACT
AIMS: To explore the role of a traditional illness of the newborn, asram, in care-seeking in rural Ghana. METHODS: Data are from formative research into newborn care which included collecting qualitative data from 14 villages in Brong Ahafo region of Ghana through 25 birth narratives, 30 in-depth interviews and two focus groups with recently delivered/pregnant women, 20 in-depth interviews and six focus groups with birth attendants/grandmothers, 12 in-depth interviews and two focus groups with husbands, and six in-depth interviews with asram healers. RESULTS: The study confirmed that asram is characterised by symptoms which include green/black veins, a big head and the newborn growing lean. However, a complex classification of 14 types of asram covering a wide array of symptoms was identified. Asram was perceived as a common illness which cannot be treated at health facilities and to which many danger signs in the newborn are attributed, and thus it affects care-seeking. Asram treatment includes frequent cold herbal baths and air-drying; however, oral treatments and preventive bathing are also used. Any modification of asram treatment was reported to require the sanction of a healer. CONCLUSION: Understanding traditional illnesses as a potential barrier to newborn care-seeking is essential for designing care-seeking interventions. An asram diagnosis can prevent sick newborns being taken to health facilities and traditional treatment exposes them to the risk of hypothermia.
Subject(s)
Infant Care , Infant, Newborn, Diseases/diagnosis , Infant, Newborn, Diseases/therapy , Medicine, African Traditional/adverse effects , Patient Acceptance of Health Care , Rural Population , Adult , Delivery of Health Care , Female , Focus Groups , Ghana , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Home Childbirth , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Infant, Newborn, Diseases/mortality , Infant, Newborn, Diseases/physiopathology , Interviews as Topic , Male , Middle Aged , Pregnancy , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
The primary aim of this study was to investigate the comparative rates of somatic complaints between Asian and Caucasian patients in a primary care setting and to characterize the factors associated with increased rates of somatization. One hundred and ninety-five individuals aged between 16 and 65 yr were interviewed with the Bradford Somatic Inventory (BSI) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) respectively. The main finding was that the Asian patients reported significantly more somatic and depressive symptoms than the Caucasian patients. Ethnicity was the most important variable determining this result.
Subject(s)
Culture , Ethnicity , Somatoform Disorders/diagnosis , Somatoform Disorders/psychology , White People , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Anxiety Disorders/diagnosis , Anxiety Disorders/psychology , Cross-Cultural Comparison , Depressive Disorder/diagnosis , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Humans , Middle Aged , Psychological TestsABSTRACT
A case of folie à deux in two sisters from Nigeria is presented. The illness arises in a setting of multiple object losses, and social isolation, which left the two sisters most vulnerable. The more passive sister picks up some of the symptoms of her previously ill sister and they join in destructive activity which brings them to the hospital. Transcultural aspects are emphasized.
