Myths as Health Belief Systems: The Language of Salves, Sorcery, and Science

Abstract

Belief systems about diseases are conceptualized as being myth-like in terms of explaining the etiology of and cure for many human diseases. In this empirical study we examined the responses of 366 adults to 139 attitude items that are a part of the cultural folk wisdom about illness, wellness, and cures. Many of these items may be called myths, quackery, home remedies, or alternative medical practices, depending on perspective. Analyses indicated that health belief systems are organized in three orthogonal factors: salves for maladies, sorcery-based explanations of illness, and scientific explanations of disease. Ethnicity, gender, and other sociodemographic variables are discussed as predictors of acceptance of communication explaining the cause of diseases, advocating steps to cure ailments, and/or simply treating illness as some sort of spiritual intervention. Analyses of the probable acceptance of scientific evidence refuting folk wisdom is also examined. Results are discussed in terms of implications for public health communication campaigns.