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Volume 9 Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education Public Health Congress 2019
May 15-16, 2019
May 15-16, 2019 Singapore
7th World Congress on
Public Health, Nutrition & Epidemiology
J Community Med Health Educ 2019, Volume 9
DOI: 10.4172/2161-0711-C3-060
Risks and barriers to treatment among HIV-positive individuals that patronize traditional healers
in sub-Saharan Africa
Anastasia Lendel and Muktar Aliyu
Vanderbilt University, USA
Background & Aim: Traditional healers are the first healthcare option for 70% of persons in sub-Saharan Africa. This review
summarizes the risk factors associated with visiting a traditional healer for people living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan
Africa.
Method: An electronic search of PubMed, MEDLINE, Ovid and other online databases were conducted. The search was
restricted to articles published in English from 1990-2019. The search terms used were HIV, AIDS and traditional medicine
or traditional healing, sub-Saharan Africa and antiretroviral therapy or ART. Articles were evaluated for relevance by reading
their abstract. The search yielded a total of 35 articles.
Results: Visiting a traditional healer was associated with delay in HIV testing and initiating Antiretroviral Treatment (ART).
Patronizing traditional healers is also associated with an increased risk of abandoning ART or being lost to follow up. Risks
associated with traditional healer visits included potential drug interactions between traditional medicines and ART and
exposure to blood and body fluids via unsterilized instruments, which places the traditional healer at risk as well.
Conclusion: There is a need for formal training programs for traditional healers, focused on reducing occupational hazards for
healers and methods of linking patients to ART programs. These training programs require respectful cooperation and mutual
education between traditional healers and biomedical health practitioners. It is also recommended establishing regulatory
systems such as traditional healer registration councils in locations that have not already done so.