RESEARCH ARTICLE


Perceptions of the Etiology and Treatment of Hypertension Among Some Traditional Healers in Cameroon



Jean Meli1, Benedicta N. Nkeh-Chungag2, *, Jean Gerard Doumtsop Tatou1, John Simo Mope3, Samuel Kingue3
1 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I – Cameroon (JM and J-GDT)
2 Department of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, PBx1. Mthatha 5117, South Africa
3 Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I – Cameroon (JSM and SK)


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Creative Commons License
Jean et al.; Licensee Bentham Open

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, PBx1. Mthatha 5117, South Africa; Tel: (+27) 475022794 / (27) 726373725; Fax: (+27)502 2758; E-mails: bnkehchungaga@wsu.ac.za


Abstract

Objectives:

To investigate the perceptions of the etiology and treatment of hypertension among a number of traditional healers reputed to treat the disease in Yaoundé.

Methods:

Semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaires were administered to 30 selected participants to collect information. Data were collected within the consulting rooms of the traditional caregivers.

Findings:

Most traditional health caregivers thought that hypertension was associated with target organs such as the heart, brain, liver and kidneys. Over 23% of participants used modern equipment to diagnose the disease or sent their patients to western hospitals for diagnoses before recommending treatment. However, close to 5% of our participants used mystical methods to diagnose hypertension in their patients. Importantly, all traditional healers depended on the patients’ testimony or physical appearance to determine treatment success.

Conclusion:

The tools and methods used by many traditional healers to diagnose hypertension are inadequate. Treatment endpoints fail to recognize the need for the long-term management of hypertension.

Keywords: Traditional healers, hypertension, perceptions, beliefs, symptoms.