North Carolina Latino Farmworkers’ Use of Traditional Healers: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Farmworkers in the United States experience high rates of injury and illness but have limited access to conventional health care. Farmworkers are often from countries that have active traditional healers, so understanding the use of traditional healers among farmworkers is important. This pilot study (1) describes the use of traditional healers among farmworkers and (2) compares the use of traditional healers by farmworkers to other Latino immigrants. Interviews were conducted in 2015 with 100 Mexican farmworkers (80 men, 20 women) and 100 Mexican immigrant non-farmworkers (50 men, 50 women) in North Carolina. Most farmworkers (78%) had H-2A visas. More farmworkers (64%) than non-farmworkers (41%) had ever used traditional healers. Among farmworkers, 21% (vs 11% of non-farmworkers) had used curanderos; 54% (vs 32%) sobadores, 43% (vs 21%) hueseros, 11% (vs 13%) yerberos, and 4% (vs 6%) espiritualistas. More farmworkers had used a traditional healer in the past year (16% vs 8%), but fewer had used this healer in the United States (4% vs 8%). Among all participants, males (58.5%) more than females (41.4%) (P=0.0214), and returning to Mexico annually (64.1%) more than who do not (45.1%) (P=0.0086) had ever used any traditional healer. This pilot study indicates the need for further research that documents the use of traditional healers by Latino farmworkers with diverse visa statuses, from countries in addition to Mexico, and in other regions in the United States. This research should also delineate the specific illnesses and injuries for which Latino farmworkers use traditional healers.

Medical Pluralism in the Use of Sobadores among Mexican Immigrants to North Carolina

“…Care must be taken in generalizing this medical pluralism to all Mexican immigrants in North Carolina because only individuals who received treatment from a sobador in the previous two years were interviewed. However, previous research indicates that 43% of Mexican-born adults living in North Carolina reported having ever been treated by a sobador , with 8% reporting they had been treated within the past year [13]; we can conclude that the use of these traditional healers is common.…”

“…Brock and colleagues [38] noted that some migrant farmworkers sought treatment for musculoskeletal pain from curanderos and sobadores when they returned to their native country, in part due to lack of knowledge about where to find a traditional healer in Georgia. Latino immigrants and migrants in other locations have reported seeking treatment from curanderos and sobadores in their native country, although not necessarily only in their native countries [13, 19]. This study therefore makes an important contribution to our knowledge about sobador use in the United States.…”

“…These traditional healers include curanderos, hueseros, yerberos, espiritualistas, andsobadores [8–13]. Curanderos use diverse healing approaches that include physical treatments, psychic healing, spiritual healing, and spiritualism [8–9].…”

“…They are widely available and used as traditional healers by Mexican immigrants, Mexican Americans, and other Latino communities in the United States [12, 18]. Studies that have examined the use of sobadores by Mexican immigrants in the United States and by Mexican Americans have largely relied on survey data [13, 15, 19–20]. For example, Arcury and colleague [13] found that 43% of Mexican-born adults living in North Carolina reported that they had ever been treated by a sobador , with 8% reporting they had been treated within the past year.…”

“…Studies that have examined the use of sobadores by Mexican immigrants in the United States and by Mexican Americans have largely relied on survey data [13, 15, 19–20]. For example, Arcury and colleague [13] found that 43% of Mexican-born adults living in North Carolina reported that they had ever been treated by a sobador , with 8% reporting they had been treated within the past year. However, research on the use of sobadores among Mexican immigrants to the United States, and how they integrate these traditional healers into the use of biomedicine is limited.…”