Gauteng mental healthcare providers' understanding of cultural and religious illnesses.
Ellen M Mathapo-Thobakgale, Fhumulani Mulaudzi, Roinah N Ngunyulu
South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care February 18, 2025 DOI: 10.4102/safp.v67i1.5779 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 12 |
| Population | Mental healthcare providers at two mental healthcare institutions in Gauteng province, South Africa |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Humans Mental disorders Mental health services Qualitative research Adult Middle aged Health personnel South africa Female Interviews as topic Understanding Mental illness Hermeneutic Mental healthcare providers. |
| Key findings | Mental healthcare providers understood cultural and religious illnesses as an unclassified mental illness, a calling to become a traditional health practitioner, a demonic spirit, and/or witchcraft. The authors argue that such understanding could support referral of people who do not respond to psychiatric treatment to traditional health practitioners and faith healers with expert cultural and religious assessment. |
Abstract
Background: Cultural and religious illnesses such as spirit possessions are health conditions that are not easily understood by healthcare providers in mental healthcare service institutions. Mental health care providers' understanding is guided by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) that seems to not recognise cultural and religious illnesses as a disorder that needs distinct care. The study explored mental healthcare providers' understanding of cultural and religious illnesses that could assist spirit-possessed persons to receive proper management and early referrals to traditional health practitioners and faith healers who are expects in cultural and religious illnesses.
Methods: Hermeneutic phenomenology explored 12 mental healthcare providers' understanding of cultural and religious illnesses. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with 12 mental healthcare providers who were selected through a purposive sampling technique. Data were collected from two mental healthcare institutions in the Gauteng province of South Africa that provide mental healthcare services. Data analysis followed Heidegger's and Gadamer's philosophies and Van Manen's six steps.
Results: The findings revealed that mental healthcare providers understood cultural and religious illnesses as mental illness that is unclassified, a calling for a person to become a traditional health practitioner, a demonic spirit and/or witchcraft. The term 'unclassified disorder' denotes that there are no specific criteria that could be used to classify an illness.
Conclusion: Understanding of cultural and religious illnesses could assist mental healthcare providers that ill-nesses that do not respond to psychiatric treatment can be referred to traditional health practitioners with expert cultural and religious assessment.Contribution: The study could assist MHCPs to acknowledge and take culture and religion into account when providing care to person with cultural and religious illness. Considering the culture and religion of the spir-it-possessed person could be an attempt to move towards a holistic understanding of health needs that highlight the continuous connections between mind, body, and soul.