Traditional Health Beliefs and Practices Among Southern Rural Blacks: A Complement to Biomedicine
Carole E. Hill, Holly F. Mathews
Abstract
This chapter describes the results of studies conducted by social scientists that have focused on the health beliefs and behaviors of predominantly rural southern blacks. In the rural South, a tradition of health care practices persists outside mainstream medicine. Data from southern blacks, however, suggest that traditional medicine is more frequently utilized for chronic health problems and modern medicine for acute health problems. In the South, the health utilization pattern for chronic conditions is 12 percent below that of other regions although the rate of disability is higher than other areas, thus indicating an underutilization of medical facilities. Illnesses treated in the home generally present familiar symptoms and do not seriously physically incapacitate the victim. The existence of several types of traditional healers in the rural black community is well documented. The special knowledge possessed by various types of healers is passed down through a kind of apprentice system.