Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. To characterize the reasons, extent, and impact of traditional medicine use among people with epilepsy PWE in the Republic of Guinea. PWE and their caregivers were seen at a public referral hospital in Conakry, the capital city, where they completed semi-structured interviews with physicians regarding their beliefs about epilepsy, medical care, and engagement with traditional healers.
Participants were treated by a traditional healer for a mean of 39 months before seeing a medical provider. Engaging with these healers is critical for both influencing community perceptions and appropriately managing epilepsy throughout the country. Keywords: global health, epilepsy, traditional medicine, healthcare delivery, Africa.
Untreated epilepsy is a much more frequent cause of death in SSA than in wealthy countries, with status epilepticus, falls, drowning, bums, and sudden unexpected death contributing to epilepsy-related mortality[ 4 ]. PWE face multiple barriers that limit their access to the medical care offered by physicians, nurses, and other professional health workers.
Throughout SSA, healthcare resources are often centralized in cities, requiring that PWE living in rural areas travel long distances to see medical providers[ 5 ]. Many countries lack sufficient numbers of medical providers to serve the population, and many providers are inexperienced with the best practices for epilepsy care[ 6 , 7 ].
In the case of epilepsy, these often include supernatural and spiritual beliefs[ 11 β 15 ]. In this setting, PWE throughout SSA often seek care from traditional healers who are usually more geographically accessible than medical providers[ 16 ]. In regions with multiple local languages, traditional healers may be able to communicate more readily with patients and families than medical providers[ 17 ]. Unlike medical providers, traditional healers may also offer explanations of disease causality that are more familiar to patients and their families[ 11 , 18 ].
