African Americans and Alternative Therapies
Folk Medicine & Folk Practices Home Remedies Religious Practices
Yvonne Eaves, PhD, RN Assistant Professor
The Interrelationship of Culture, Health, & Illness
Health
care beliefs and practices are:
diverse & complex cross ethnic, cultural, & social boundaries Culture influences individuals’ expectations & perceptions about health, illness, and disease Cultural values influence how individuals cope with illness, disease, & stress
What is African American (Black) Folk Medicine?
in supernatural forces Health & illness viewed as either natural or unnatural Self-care practices that may include the integration of ritualistic behaviors with medicinal remedies (e.g. dancing, chanting, massaging with ointments, ingesting herbs)
Belief
Origins of African American Folk Beliefs
Traced back to 1619 when slaves were brought into the U.S. Slaves preferred self-treatment or treatment by friends, older relatives, or conjure doctors Origins in West Africa Religion interwoven into health care beliefs and practices Influenced by beliefs developed in Haiti, Jamaica, and Trinidad
Folk Beliefs
properties of certain herbs and spices Supernatural forces View of health and illness
Healing
Influences on African American Folk Beliefs and Folk Medicine
Historical
socio-political Economical Educational Familial Geographical
Societal;
Dichotomy of Health & Illness in Folk Beliefs
Health Illness
natural good reward (God)
unnatural evil (spell, devil) punishment (God)
African American Folk Practices and Practitioners
Granny Spiritualist
Voodoo
priest or priestess
Witchcraft: An Alternative Form of Folk Medicine
that witchcraft can be used to treat illness/disease and to inflict illness/disease Premise: there are some individuals who possess the ability to mobilize the forces of good and evil. Such abilities are based on the principle of sympathetic magic.
Belief
Witchcraft: An Alternative Form of Folk Medicine (contd.)
Premise
of Sympathetic Magic
everything in the universe is connected there is a direct correlation between the body and forces of nature understanding these connections assists an individual in the interpretation and manipulation of events
Two Types of Sympathetic Magic
Contagious
physically connected objects can never be separated any action against the part constitutes an action against the whole
Imitative
Premise: “like follows like” a person will imitate the desired behavior or achievement
Healing as a Gift from God
3
Levels of Healing (Flaskerud & Rush, 1989)
Persons who learned their craft from others (a grandmother, a neighbor; a nursing or medical school) Healers on whom God has bestowed the gift of healing during a religious experience. Persons born with the power of curing. God’s sign is on such persons at the time of birth.
Home Remedies
mostly for acute and chronic illnesses/conditions May be used for health promotion or disease prevention herbs, spices, foods, teas, ointments, liniments,
Used
African American Religion & Church Services
Possession Healing Services Prophecy Spiritual Churches of New Orleans (1920s - 1930s)
Spirit
Pertinent Research
AIDS and Traditional Health Beliefs and Practices of Black Women (Flaskerud & Rush, 1989) Use of Complementary & Alternative Medicine among African American and Hispanic Women in New York City: A Pilot Study (Cushman, Wade, Factor-Litvak, Kronenberg, & Firester, 1999) Religion/Spirituality and Health Among Elderly African Americans and Hispanics (Stolley & Koenig, 1997) Biofeedback & Relaxation in Blacks with Hypertension: A Preliminary Study (Harrison & Rao, 1979)
Pertinent Research
A Progressive Relaxation Intervention at the Worksite for African American Women (Webb, Smyth, & Yarandi, 2000) Ethnomusic Therapy and the Dual-Diagnosed African American Client (Camphina-Bacote & Allbright, 1992) Acute Renal Failure from Herbal and Patent Remedies in Blacks (Gold, 1980)
Implications
Practice
Education Research