Ethnomedical Beliefs and Utilization of Alcohol Herbal Remedy for Malaria in South-Coastal Nigeria

We studied ethnomedical beliefs and utilization of alcohol herbal remedy for malaria in Uyo, south-coastal Nigeria. In-depth interviews were conducted with 213 respondents aged between 25 to 65 years, who were recruited through venue-based sampling. Malaria is recognized by its symptomatic presentations, which is reflected in different local names for the disease. Local etiological beliefs attribute malaria to mosquito bites, exposure to sunlight, fatigue, witchcraft, and excessive consumption of palm oil. There is a disease-specific preference for alcohol herbal remedies because they are accessible, affordable, and responsive to sociocultural realities. The therapy veils excessive consumption of alcohol with associated risks. Lack of quality control in production and dosage for the administration of these herbal remedies also put users at risk. Local beliefs should be integrated into malaria control programs to enhance community acceptance and participation. Herbal remedies should be subjected to regulation to ensure quality and minimize harms. Community health education should be mounted to improve knowledge of malarial transmission and promote utilization of appropriate health-care services.

Madness (Eemwengu) and Its Sources

Integrating indigenous cultural knowledge into conceptualizing mental illness offers fruitful avenues to better contextualize mental health. What is abnormal and indicative of psychological distress varies in the meaning given to symptoms and the actual identification of disorders. This is no less true in Ovambo culture in Namibia, Southern Africa. The Namibian government, however, has noted that little is known about the mental health needs throughout the country. Although some researchers have identified symptoms of psychological distress in Namibian men and women, cultural tradition and belief systems are typically missing. The purpose of this study was to use ethnographic data to develop an understanding of what Ovambo men and women living in a rural area of Northern Namibia believe about mental illness. Informal discussions and formal interviews served as data. Participants ( N = 14) were all Ovambo men or women who were sampled after ongoing engagement in a rural community in northern Namibia. Data from field observations and interviews were analyzed using grounded theory open coding, resulting in two key categories: (a) Eemwengu (madness) and Omunanamwengu (the mad one) and (b) Where Madness Comes From: Explanations of Mental Illness. The first category offers insight into a culturally embedded way of identifying mental illness in Ovambo culture. The second category includes several subcategories oriented to the etiology of mental illness in Ovambo culture. Etiological beliefs about mental illness, eemwengu as a culturally embedded construct, and social control in the beliefs about psychological distress in Ovambo culture are discussed.

Disordered Mood in Cultural-Historical Context

The research literature on mood disorders is dominated by Western concepts. Historical changes and cultural variations are the focus of this chapter. We begin with a historical overview, then turn to the contemporary literature on cultural variations in mood disorders, focusing on: (1) etiological beliefs, (2) risk and resilience, (3) incidence and prevalence, and (4) symptoms. We propose an approach to understanding cultural variations in psychopathology based on a core idea from cultural psychology: the mutual constitution of culture, mind, and brain. Then, we describe some of the ways symptoms of disordered mood can be understood as emerging from looping processes in the culture-mind-brain system. For future research, we emphasize the importance of integrative studies across culture-, mind-, and brain-levels. Then we consider the possibility that historical changes in descriptions of disordered mood might include culturally shaped transformations in normal and abnormal experience.