Kenya: Faith Healers Key to Fighting Mental Disorders

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Traditional and faith healers are among informal players that are expected to aid the health sector in bridging the human resource gap in mental health service delivery.

This is according to preliminary find- ings from a study that was recently com- missioned by the Global Health Research Initiative headed by the lead doctor Victoria Mutiso of the Africa Mental Health Foundation.

Mutiso’s team has been training faith and traditional healers, community-based health workers and hospital personnel to perform basic psychiatric tasks, such as identifying symptoms, diagnosing conditions, and referring patients to specialised services.

Source: All Africa (link opens in a new window)

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Health Care
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public health