Suranho healing: Filipino concepts of intellectual disability and treatment choices in Negros Occidental

Abstract

This qualitative study investigated the use of folk medicine by families for people with intellectual disability in the Philippines. Workers from Negros Occidental who support people with intellectual disability participated in semi-structured interviews. Findings show families seek the intervention of a folk healer before seeking primary healthcare support and a prosperous cultural use of folk medicine exists across the Philippines. Intellectual impairment is perceived by some Filipinos to be caused by supernatural forces. Socio-cultural constructs of intellectual disability probably influence health outcomes for this populace. If primary healthcare tools and resources for people with intellectual disability that are developed in higher-income nations are to have the potential to be transferred into other settings, understanding of attitudes towards alternative medicine is needed.

Keywords:

• intellectual disability
• complementary and alternative medicine
• folk medicine
• Philippines
• low-income nations
• human rights

Notes

1. We use ‘TCAM’ and ‘folk medicine’ interchangeably throughout this paper to reflect that neither practice is ‘exotic’ – both are used commonly across the world.