Academic literature on the topic 'Unorthodox health beliefs'

Background and context: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Nigerian women, mostly aged 35 years and older. The survival rate of breast cancer patient in northern Nigeria is 40% and below as compared with that of developed countries at 95% and above. The rising incidence of breast cancer in northern Nigeria is complicated, mainly due to cultural beliefs for incision by traditional rulers, poverty, illiteracy and fear of high cost of treatment. Aim: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Nigerian women, mostly aged 35 years and older. The survival rate of breast cancer patient in northern Nigeria is 40% and below as compared with that of developed countries at 95% and above. The rising incidence of breast cancer in northern Nigeria is complicated, mainly due to cultural beliefs for incision by traditional rulers, poverty, illiteracy and fear of high cost of treatment. Strategy/Tactics: We made contact with two tertiary health facilities in Kebbi state to determine the baseline prevalence of stage 3 and 4 breast cancer in the hospitals. Organized cancer sensitization workshops for religious bodies to incorporate breast cancer awareness into sermons and also capacity building for nurses and traditional healers. Engaged the media through delivery of radio and television jingles on dangers of refusing medical care and also telling the stories of cancer survivors to enable the populace to be strong and brave to take charge of their health and quality of life. Program/Policy process: The entire communities were carried along. Tertiary health facilities provided support in giving access to relevant data. Permission from local government chairmen were sorted to interact with members of the communities. The general public were engaged through media. Outcomes: There was 30% increase in percentage of male participation especially spouses in encouraging women to seek appropriate help for breast cancer. Traditional healers and religious leaders had a positive impact in sensitizing women on need to attend hospitals for any breast changes early so as to reduce the incidence of late detected cases. They also alleviated avenues of stigmatization among the populace. Survivors were able to tell their stories via various media channels. What was learned: Majority of the target population lack access to basic health care. They patronize unorthodox medicine rather than clinical medicine. Cancer education and advocacy made a huge difference in health care perspective of this population. There is great need for continued cancer education and awareness to improve patients' survival and quality of life.

Introduction. The goals of health care provision include that it be accessible, acceptable, affordable and adequate. Discharge against medical advice (DAMA) is a failure of proper health care provision as there is disagreement arising from dissatisfaction with provided health care. DAMA is common in our sub-region because of many reasons; these includes ignorance, financial constraint of the patient, beliefs in unorthodox care and patients feeling that they are well when their caregivers do not think so. Aim. The objectives of this study are to determine the incidence, method of documentation of DAMA in the case notes and patients reasons for DAMA in our tertiary health institution. The A&E of any hospital in our environment attracts public criticism when there is dissatisfaction with services and DAMA when not handled well can lead to justifiable criticisms and/or litigations. Material and methods. This is a retrospective study. It was carried out at the adult accident and emergency department of Enugu state university of technology teaching hospital Enugu. Duration of the study was from January 2017 to December 2018. Results. A total of 8,152 patients were seen in the accident and emergency during this period. One hundred and seventy one (171) case notes were retrieved and reviewed for the study, DAMA rate of 2.1% was obtained. Fifty one folders (29.8%) did not have reason for the DAMA documented in them. The commonest reason for the DAMA was to seek traditional medical care with frequency of 17.5%. This was closely followed by financial constraint with 15.8%. Documentation for DAMA was done directly in the case notes. Conclusion. The incidence of DAMA from this study is similar to what is obtainable from other local studies, financial constraint on the patients and seeking alternative medical treatment were the commonest reasons for DAMA in our sub-region. Also, the documentation for the DAMA in this study was poorly done.

The purpose of this study was twofold. The primary purpose was to assess why some adult patients with advanced cancer who attend local outpatient clinics used unorthodox cancer therapies while others did not. Another purpose was to survey the prevalence of use of such unorthodox treatment by these patients. A questionnaire was developed based on the Health Belief Model, with an emphasis on cancer treatment. In addition, locus of control questions were developed to measure the participants' locus-of-control orientation about cancer treatment. Also included were attitude questions based on Ajzen and Fishbein's value-expectancy model, to measure the difficulty which barriers to treatment (e.g., cost, side effects) caused the respondents. The final test had eight subscales and demographic questions. Internal reliabilities ranged from .56 to .88. Stepwise multiple regression analyses showed that the variables which accounted for the largest portion of explained variance (10%) of use of unorthodox therapies were knowledge, attitudes, and education. The incidence of unorthodox cancer treatments was 23%. Also, the user of unorthodox therapies was likely to be younger, better educated, more knowledgeable concerning cancer treatments, and had more negative attitudes toward the barriers to cancer treatment.

As new and unorthodox methods of health care become increasingly popular, more and more stories appear in magazines, television, and even professional journals. Advocates of alternative healing appear as conference speakers for lay and professional groups alike—including health educators. Such therapies appeal to a public eager to take control of their own health and bodies. Via the Internet, new ideas and treatments can spread through the population incredibly fast. The abundance of new healing techniques coupled with an interested audience and the wonders of mass communication present a challenge to the health educator. The author believes health educators need to be aware of trends in popular culture and new forms of alternative health care. Health educators should have the insight, by virtue of their training, to distinguish real from fantasy, science from pseudoscience. They need to become health information specialists and competent in operating the latest technology. Most importantly, health educators need to remain objective and keep an open mind coupled with a healthy degree of skepticism.

Rapports between religion and health are analysed here, within the context of contemporary France, based upon a distinc tion between the major "official" instances of belief regulation (State, science, dominant religious confessions) and the "nebula" of heterodoxies, meaning by this representations and social practi ces which set themselves up in competition with the "offcial"sec tor, for example astrology or unorthodox medicines or post-psycho-analytical, psycho-corporal groups of activities. In this perspective, the reference to the linguistic notion of the "floa ting significant", introduced by LEVI-STRA USS, enters into an enlightening symbiosis with the psycho-analytical notion of "transitional phenomenon", defined by WINNICOTT.

Abstract Background An important part of diabetes self-management includes discussing and seeking informal advice from others. Aim This study aimed to explore beliefs and experiences of patients in relation to their use of CAM in diabetes through the use of data from online patient forum discussions. Method Google search engine was used to identify relevant web-based online discussion forums in English language focussing on CAM use (including herbal and other unorthodox therapies) in diabetes and posted by either patients or carers. No date limit was imposed. A qualitative content analysis was adopted for analysis. Results Twenty-two online forums containing 77 threads with 1156 posts and replies were identified. Seven major themes emerged from the data analysis including: patient beliefs regarding CAM use, perceived effectiveness and safety of CAM, evidence base and information seeking. Patients used online forums to seek information about the benefits, side effects and share positive and negative experiences of CAM use. Feeling stressed, frustrated or overwhelmed with diabetes and prescribed medications was often linked to their decisions to use CAM. They described that healthcare professionals were often unaware or unable to help in regards to their queries around CAMs. Conclusion Patients with diabetes use online forums to share information regarding CAM use. There is a scope for professional societies, patient charities and health systems to offer such online platforms to promote rationale use of CAM, provide evidence-based information to patients and alleviate fears and concerns around diabetes and prescribed medicines.

Abstract Background and Aims A living-donor kidney transplant (LDKT) is one of the best treatments for kidney failure, yet in the UK there is evidence of ethnic inequity in access. We designed this questionnaire-based mixed-methods study to investigate the patient-reported reasons that family members of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic group (BAME) individuals were not able to become living kidney donors. Method This questionnaire-based case-control study included 14 UK hospitals. Participants were adults transplanted between 1/4/13-31/3/17. Participants provided data on all relatives aged >18 years who could have been potential living kidney donors. Participants were asked for the reasons why relatives could not donate: individuals were asked to tick all options that applied from a list of reasons (Age; Health; Weight; Location; Financial/Cost; Job; Blood group; No-one to care for them after donation), and a box was provided for free-text entries following the option of ‘Other – please give details’. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyse the association between the likelihood of selecting each reason for non-donation and the participant’s ethnicity (binary variable White versus BAME). 56/171 BAME respondents provided free text responses and all were analysed. Qualitative responses were analysed using thematic analysis. Results 1,240 questionnaires were returned from 3,103 patients (40% response). There was strong evidence that after adjustment for potential confounders sex, age and socioeconomic position, BAME individuals were more likely than White respondents to indicate that family members lived too far away to donate (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 3.14 [95% CI 2.10-4.70]), were prevented from donating by financial concerns (aOR 2.25 [95% CI 1.49-3.39]), were not able to take time off work (aOR 2.05 [95% CI 1.36-3.09]), and were not the right blood group (aOR 1.47 [95% CI 1.12-1.94]). Four qualitative themes were identified from free-text responses from BAME participants: i) Burden of disease within the family ii) ‘Unorthodox’ religious beliefs iii) Specific geographical concerns (healthcare provision, visa difficulties) iv) Knowledge handling. The theme ‘Knowledge Handling’ incorporated three subthemes: a) Need for more detailed knowledge, b) Protected disclosure of health status, and c) Recipient assumptions about potential donor knowledge. Conclusion We have identified multiple barriers to living kidney donation in the UK BAME population, which should be further investigated and addressed. BAME transplant recipients were more likely to report that potential donors were not the right blood group to donate: work should be undertaken to ascertain if this reflects true ABO-incompatibility or perceived incompatibility. Potential donors living outside the UK is a major barrier, related to difficulties with accessing visa and concerns about a specific country’s healthcare system’s capacity for longer-term post-donation care. The financial barriers reported may disproportionately affect overseas donors who, although entitled to reimbursement for travel, accommodation and visa costs, may incur large “up-front” costs which may be prohibitive. No respondents reported that a major religion’s position on living donation was a barrier to donation. However, there were several references to family members holding beliefs that were described as ‘distorted’ religious beliefs: this highlights the need to understand the beliefs of potential donors who belong to non-mainstream religions, which may be out of the remit of denominational faith leaders.

Abstract Background Early presentation and initiation of appropriate anticonvulsants help in controlling epilepsy and reducing morbidity and mortality associated with epilepsy. Objectives This study aimed to assess the health-seeking behavior for pediatric epilepsy among caregivers in Southeast Nigeria and the associated sociodemographic factors. Methodology This study was a cross-sectional descriptive and questionnaire-based study. The participants were recruited consecutively. Results Majority of the caregivers were mothers, had some formal education, and were employed. While 50% of these caregivers did not seek any home treatment for seizures, the other half offered various types of unorthodox home treatments. Treatments in primary and secondary levels of care were the most common form of first point of care outside the home. The most common reasons for the choice of care outside the home were advice from relations and belief in the efficacy of care offered. About 45% of the caregivers presented to tertiary level of care within 6 months of seizure onset. The major motivators for seeking care in tertiary level of care were health workers and families of children with epilepsy. Conclusion There is a need to strengthen the primary and secondary levels of care through continuous medical education of health workers in these levels of care for effective management of epilepsy. This will help in making prompt and correct diagnosis, classification, and initiation of appropriate therapy in epilepsy.

IntroductionControversies surround the issue if chronic consumption of a high-sugar diet is detrimental to health or not. This study investigates whether lifelong consumption of a higher sucrose diet will induce overeating, and obesity, and cause metabolic dysfunctions such as hyperglycemia and dyslipidaemia in C57BL/6N mice, compared to a lower sucrose diet.MethodsMale C57BL/6N mice at 3 weeks of age were randomized into consuming a diet with 25 or 10% kcal from sucrose for the rest of their lives. Body weight, food and water intake, fasting blood glucose, insulin, and lipid levels were measured at regular intervals. At the end of the study, organs and tissues were collected and gene expression was measured.ResultsThere was no discernible difference in the impact on food intake, body composition, glucose and lipid homeostasis, liver triglyceride content, life expectancy, as well as gene expression related to intermediary metabolism between mice fed a diet with 10 vs. 25% kcal as sucrose over their lifespan. We also showed that switching from a 25% kcal diet to a 10% kcal diet at different life stages, or vice versa, did not appear to affect these outcomes of interest.DiscussionThe results from our study suggest that lifelong consumption of a higher sugar diet generally did not induce overeating and obesity, disrupt carbohydrate metabolism and lipid homeostasis, and reduce life expectancy compared with a lower sugar diet. Our unorthodox findings disagreed with the popular belief that higher sugar consumption is detrimental to health, which should be confirmed in future studies.