Santería as Informal Mental Health Support Among U.S. Latinos with Cancer

Rosario, Adelaida; Rosa, Mario De La

doi:10.1080/15426432.2014.873294

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Resulting emotional problems can be exacerbated by lack of support, information, and skills to manage illness [44, 45]. Also, men with cancer are less likely than women to use health and psychological support care services [46–50] and have significant unmet psychosocial and health system/information needs [51, 52].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Initial evaluation of the validity and reliability of the culturally adapted Spanish CaSUN (S-CaSUN)

et al. 2018

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Initial evaluation of the validity and reliability of the culturally adapted Spanish CaSUN (S-CaSUN)

et al. 2018

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“… 10 , 15 , 25 , 40 , 41 Santerias are commonly used by THs and function as the visible door to the invisible world of folk healing. 42 Yerberos use botánicas as a resource for people who seek ethnomedicine and ethnobotany alternative medicine, which contains naturopathic treatments involving herbal teas and foods. 29 , 43 For example people with diabetes use a concoction of herbs as a supplement in addition to their medication 14 , 32 , 37 …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Traditional Healers as Health Care Providers for the Latine Community in the United States, a Systematic Review

et al. 2022

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Background: Due to structural barriers to accessing the biomedical health care system, traditional healers (THs) often serve as the first point of contact for health care by Latine individuals in the United States. A recent assessment of the extent of use of THs by the Latine community is lacking. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature published between 2000 and 2020, to assess the prevalence of use of THs by U.S. Latine individuals, health conditions for which care was sought, reasons for their use, and extent of TH use and dual use that is of biomedical health care and TH together. Primary inclusion criteria for studies included: (1) published in English, (2) focus on THs, (3) pertained to Latine individuals residing in the United States, and (4) published since 2000. Results: Eighty-five studies were reviewed; 33 met inclusion criteria. Under the overarching term of curanderos , 4 subtypes of THs were identified: sobadores , yerberos , espiritualistas , and hueseros . The lifetime prevalence of TH use varied from 6% to 67.7% depending on the demographic differences among the Latine individuals in these studies. Primary reasons for seeking care from THs were accessibility/convenience, affordability, and linguistic and cultural congruence. Discussion: The use of THs is highly prevalent for Latine community residing in the United States because they are accessible, affordable, and provide culturally and linguistically compatible care, indicating that they offer an alternative that addresses systemic structural barriers to biomedical health care. Further research on the efficacy and safety of the treatments rendered by THs and how their care might be optimally coordinated with biomedical health care, could improve health equity and access to care among Latine individuals in the United States.

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“…Based on the results obtained from semi-structured interviews with 31 religious leaders, community leaders, traditional healers, and biomedical health providers, 10 focus group discussions, and four in-depth case studies of psychiatric patients, the authors concluded that the widespread belief in Vodou was, in and of itself, not a primary barrier for most Haitians to seek biomedical care but that its interventions were not always considered effective for the treatment of mental disorders, while many could not afford such help ( Khoury et al., 2012 ). This is strikingly at odds with Rosario and de la Rosa (2013) who, analysing the extant literature on the use of Santería practices by Latino cancer patients in the US, concluded that those in need of mental health services in addition to their cancer treatment often took recourse to Santería rather than to Western biomedical care services. Principal reasons they outlined for this included the perceived incompatibility of Latino and Western illness and treatment needs, and the insufficiency of Western mental health services to adequately incorporate foundational cultural values.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Belief in Brua among psychiatric patients from Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao: Results from an explorative study in the Netherlands

Punski-Hoogervorst

Rhuggenaath

Blom

2021

Transcult Psychiatry

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Brua is an Afro-Caribbean religion and healing tradition predominantly practised on the ABC islands of the former Netherlands Antilles. It is grounded in oral tradition and shrouded in strict social taboos. Existing literature suggests that the majority of people on and from the islands are familiar with Brua and that it plays a substantial role in shaping their illness conception and idioms of distress. A lack of knowledge of Brua may therefore lead biomedically trained health professionals to misdiagnose these patients. This article discusses how religious beliefs related to Brua influence the illness concepts and idioms of distress of psychiatric patients originating from the ABC Islands, based on semi-structured interviews with former islanders receiving treatment at a psychiatric institute in the Netherlands. We found that of the 29 interviewees, 93.1% knew what Brua involved, 72.4% believed in it, 48.2% had first-hand experience with Brua practices, and 34.5% attributed their mental illness to Brua with greater or lesser certainty. However, only one patient had previously discussed her belief in Brua with her psychiatrist and only when asked to do so. The role of psychoactive substances in the context of Brua practices was negligible. Thus, the present study indicates that the majority of psychiatric patients from the ABC islands are familiar with Brua, but feel reluctant to discuss their concerns in this area with mental health professionals. Recommendations for clinical practice and further research are provided, including the need for a culture-sensitive approach and integrative care.

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Santería as Informal Mental Health Support Among U.S. Latinos with Cancer

Cited by 8 publications

References 52 publications

Initial evaluation of the validity and reliability of the culturally adapted Spanish CaSUN (S-CaSUN)

Initial evaluation of the validity and reliability of the culturally adapted Spanish CaSUN (S-CaSUN)

Traditional Healers as Health Care Providers for the Latine Community in the United States, a Systematic Review

Belief in Brua among psychiatric patients from Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao: Results from an explorative study in the Netherlands

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