Quests for therapy in northern Uganda: healing at Laropi revisited

Allen, Tim; Storm, Laura

doi:10.1080/17531055.2012.664702

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In addition, while local healing practices and the use of local herbs (erua Madi) are an important part of health care choices in this area, they are often used alongside biomedical health care and they do not necessarily conflict with using biomedical health programmes (Allen & Storm, 2012). For bilharzia (as schistosomiasis was commonly known), one fisherman explained, 'erua Madi a di dri uci uci' (translated as: 'local herbs are used, for what else is there to do?').…”

Section: Drug Uptake In Moyo and Adjumani Districtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…District vector control officers oversee the mass distribution of drugs (which occurs for the first four of the diseases named above), as well as vector surveillance activities for onchocerciasis and sleeping sickness. There have been numerous public health programmes for some of these diseases in the past, with sleeping sickness control being particularly prominent (see, for example, Allen & Storm, 2012). The region has a long history of social upheaval as well as political and economic marginalization (Allen, 1991;Woodward, 1991;Allen & Storm, 2012), dating back to slave and ivory traders in the nineteenth century, through the colonial period to independence.…”

Section: Moyo and Adjumani Districts North-western Ugandamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Low Prevalence of Intestinal Schistosomiasis Among Fisherfolk Living Along the River Nile in North-Western Uganda: A Biosocial Investigation

Pearson

2016

J. Biosoc. Sci.

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SummaryMass drug administration has been less successful as a technique for controlling intestinal schistosomiasis (S. mansoni) than anticipated. In Uganda, the mass distribution of praziquantel has been provided to populations at risk of infection since the early 2000s, but prevalence mostly remains high. This is the case, for example, at locations in north-western and south-eastern Uganda. However, there is a remarkable exception. Among Madi fishing populations and their immediate neighbours, living close to the border with South Sudan, the rate of infection has dropped dramatically. A parasitological survey carried out at twelve fishing sites in 2013 identified only three cases of S. mansoni among 383 adults tested. This article asks: why is the prevalence of S. mansoni so low among fisherfolk in northern Uganda? Taking a biosocial approach, it suggests that the mass distribution of drugs, free of charge, has had an impact. However, the low prevalence of infection cannot be attributed to this alone. Other important factors may also have contributed to the decline in infection. These include changing fishing livelihoods, local attitudes to public health interventions, access to water and sanitation facilities, hygiene practices and the use of anti-malarial treatments. Above all, the article highlights the importance of investigating both social and biological dimensions of infection simultaneously, and of recognizing the local complexities of sustainably treating this debilitating parasitic disease.

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Section: Drug Uptake In Moyo and Adjumani Districtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Moyo and Adjumani Districts North-western Ugandamentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Prevalence of Intestinal Schistosomiasis Among Fisherfolk Living Along the River Nile in North-Western Uganda: A Biosocial Investigation

Pearson

2016

J. Biosoc. Sci.

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“…The authors also reported evidence of ‘burnt-out’ cases: “some parents displayed their children proudly, affirming that their ulcers had healed without Western medicine” (p.279)[ 30 ]. Thus, there has not been an apparent dramatic change in practices over this 50 year period, and the perceived efficacy of herbalists’ treatment has persisted despite the general expansion of biomedicine during this time [ 29 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The northwestern region of Uganda has a long history of social upheaval, political and economic marginalisation [ 28 , 29 ]. Slave and ivory traders were active in the nineteenth-century, and subsequently the region was under various colonial and protectorate rule.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding perceptions on 'Buruli' in northwestern Uganda: A biosocial investigation

Pearson

2018

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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BackgroundAn understudied disease, little research thus far has explored responses to Buruli ulcer and quests for therapy from biosocial perspective, despite reports that people seek biomedical treatment too late.Methods and findingsTaking an inductive approach and drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork in 2013–14, this article presents perspectives on this affliction of people living and working along the River Nile in northwest Uganda. Little is known biomedically about its presence, yet ‘Buruli’, as it is known locally, was and is a significant affliction in this region. Establishing a biosocial history of ‘Buruli’, largely obscured from biomedical perspectives, offers explanations for contemporary understandings, perceptions and practices.Conclusions/SignificanceWe must move beyond over-simplifying and problematising ‘late presentation for treatment’ in public health, rather, develop biosocial approaches to understanding quests for therapy that take into account historical and contemporary contexts of health, healing and illness. Seeking to understand the context in which healthcare decisions are made, a biosocial approach enables greater depth and breadth of insight into the complexities of global and local public health priorities such as Buruli ulcer.

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“…At least superficially, ideas about the interpersonal and spiritual causes of suffering are set aside in favor of visits to the local health clinic, which provides some very basic medical care, or to prayers at church services. Beneath the surface, however, matters are more complicated (Allen and Storm 2012).…”

Section: Twenty Years Later: the Introduction Of Democratic Witch-clementioning

confidence: 99%

Justice at the Margins: Witches, Poisoners, and Social Accountability in Northern Uganda

Allen

Reid

2014

Medical Anthropology

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Quests for therapy in northern Uganda: healing at Laropi revisited

Cited by 20 publications

References 11 publications

Low Prevalence of Intestinal Schistosomiasis Among Fisherfolk Living Along the River Nile in North-Western Uganda: A Biosocial Investigation

Low Prevalence of Intestinal Schistosomiasis Among Fisherfolk Living Along the River Nile in North-Western Uganda: A Biosocial Investigation

Understanding perceptions on 'Buruli' in northwestern Uganda: A biosocial investigation

Justice at the Margins: Witches, Poisoners, and Social Accountability in Northern Uganda

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