Afrosentriese etiologiese opvattings: Empiriese bevindings in Mangaung

Abstract

Afrocentric etiological views: empirical findings in Mangaung. It is generally accepted that the possibility of successful therapy decreases where there is socio-cultural distance between patient and therapist Appropriate and acceptable health care delivery requires that therapists be knowledgeable about their patients' cosmological views. Each cultural group's concept of ill-health and etiology forms part of its world-view. The original African conception of disease compnses several factors from which two cognitive etiological categories emerge which are typified as naturalistic and personalistic. In a survey conducted in Mangaung it was found that the naturalistic etiology was fairly generally accepted. Notwithstanding this, about one third of the respondents indicated that they took personalistic etiological views. It is therefore expected that these views will remain important in the foreseeable future. Because most black patients are treated by white doctors and because they should receive treatment which is in accordance with their culture and world-view, the study of traditional cosmological views should be included in the medical curriculum.