{"id":9884,"date":"2025-02-24T14:50:37","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T14:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/?page_id=9884"},"modified":"2025-03-06T13:45:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T13:45:24","slug":"traditional-healers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/traditional-healers\/","title":{"rendered":"Traditional Healers"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”12px|||||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.18.0″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”Roboto||||||||” header_text_color=”#323232″ header_font_size=”40px” header_line_height=”1.2em” max_width=”85%” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||19px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Traditional Healers\u00a0<\/h1>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#003389″ divider_weight=”3px” _builder_version=”4.16″ width=”100%” max_width=”21%” module_alignment=”left” custom_margin=”|||0px|false|false” custom_padding=”|||80px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text quote_border_color=”#003389″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_text_color=”#323232″ link_text_color=”#3344dd” quote_font_size=”20px” header_font=”Roboto||||||||” header_text_color=”#323232″ max_width=”85%” module_alignment=”center” min_height=”88px” custom_margin=”-4px||15px|||” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” header_3_font_size=”14px” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Several research projects at ICEH have assessed the impact of traditional healers in eye medicine.<\/p>\n

In low-resource settings, access to modern healthcare can be limited due to income, transportation challenges and gaps in the local healthcare system. People instead often initially use home remedies and\/or seek care from traditional healers.<\/p>\n

A study in Uganda found a strong association with the use of traditional eye medicine and microbial keratitis, suggesting that traditional practices increase the likelihood of developing the condition. This is likely through applying products directly to the eye, causing further scratching, scarring and infections.<\/p>\n

Research in Nepal surveyed 109 traditional healers over nine months, revealing that healers believed infections can be caused by a curse or witchcraft, and often rubbed infected eyes with a herb, which can cause further damage and blindness. The study also showed however that healers were open to being trained in modern eye health care, potentially improving care for patients by becoming referrers to the main health system.<\/p>\n

Publications<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arunga S, Asiimwe A, Apio Olet E, Kagoro-Rugunda G, Ayebazibwe B, Onyango J, Newton R, Leck A, Macleod D, Hu VH, Seeley J, Burton MJ. Traditional eye medicine use in microbial keratitis in Uganda: a mixed methods study. Wellcome Open Res. 2019 Oct. 4;4:89. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/wellcomeopenres.15259.2<\/a><\/p>\n

Das Sanyam S, Yadav R, H. A. Mohamed Ahmed A et al. Role of traditional healers in the management of microbial keratitis in eastern Nepal. Wellcome Open Res 2024, 9:295 https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/wellcomeopenres.21241.2<\/a><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Traditional Healers\u00a0Several research projects at ICEH have assessed the impact of traditional healers in eye medicine. In low-resource settings, access to modern healthcare can be limited due to income, transportation challenges and gaps in the local healthcare system. People instead often initially use home remedies and\/or seek care from traditional healers. A study in Uganda […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9884","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nTraditional Healers - ICEH<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/traditional-healers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Traditional Healers - ICEH\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Traditional Healers\u00a0Several research projects at ICEH have assessed the impact of traditional healers in eye medicine. In low-resource settings, access to modern healthcare can be limited due to income, transportation challenges and gaps in the local healthcare system. People instead often initially use home remedies and\/or seek care from traditional healers. A study in Uganda […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/traditional-healers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ICEH\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-06T13:45:24+00:00\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/traditional-healers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/traditional-healers\/\",\"name\":\"Traditional Healers - ICEH\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-24T14:50:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-06T13:45:24+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/traditional-healers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/\",\"name\":\"ICEH\",\"description\":\"Research and education to improve eye health and eliminate avoidable visual impairment and blindness, with a focus on low income populations.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Traditional Healers - ICEH","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/traditional-healers\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Traditional Healers - ICEH","og_description":"Traditional Healers\u00a0Several research projects at ICEH have assessed the impact of traditional healers in eye medicine. In low-resource settings, access to modern healthcare can be limited due to income, transportation challenges and gaps in the local healthcare system. People instead often initially use home remedies and\/or seek care from traditional healers. A study in Uganda […]","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/traditional-healers\/","og_site_name":"ICEH","article_modified_time":"2025-03-06T13:45:24+00:00","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/traditional-healers\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/traditional-healers\/","name":"Traditional Healers - ICEH","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-02-24T14:50:37+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-06T13:45:24+00:00","inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/traditional-healers\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/","name":"ICEH","description":"Research and education to improve eye health and eliminate avoidable visual impairment and blindness, with a focus on low income populations.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"}]}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/845"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9884"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10236,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9884\/revisions\/10236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lshtm.ac.uk\/iceh-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}