Traditional Healing in Uganda: A Statistical Analysis of Treatments by a Group of Traditional Healers

Abstract

In a project of ethnomedical research the two authors – working as psychotherapists in Switzerland – were visiting a group of traditional healers in the Mpigi District of Uganda. One aim was to look for a cross-cultural understanding of psychological problems, another was to investigate the efficiency of traditional healing and its integration in the public health system. The data of 978 subjects (37.9% males, 47.7% females and 14.4% families) treated in 2007 were analyzed with special respect to the outcome. Three overlapping categories (spiritual, connecting, physical/medical) were used for the definition of the patients problems and their received treatments. No significant differences could be found between males and females, but between singles and families. Singles had more spiritual problems and treatments whereas families had more connecting problems and treatments. 38.7% of the sample had physical problems and 28.3% were sent to medical treatment. The positive outcome rate of the whole sample was very high: 53.4% had recovered, 34.8% improved and only 11.9% were unchanged.