-transparent.png){kind=logo}
Pathways patients take to psychiatric care will reflect the nature of the services available and the popular beliefs about mental illness. Studying the pathways may help in the identification of sources of delay in the receipt of care and suggest possible improvements. By studying the pathways of 159 patients to a tertiary psychiatric service in Nigeria, we show that traditional and religious healers are consulted at some stage by many patients with mental illness. Such healers are the first carers to a large proportion of the patients. These patients are not different from those who consult orthodox medical practitioners either in demographic features, presenting complaints, or nearness to service. Patients who consult traditional healers first tended to arrive at a tertiary psychiatric service much later than those who consult other carers. Our observations suggest that attempts to incorporate traditional medical care into the health care system must seek to improve their referral skill.
O Gureje, and
R A Acha, and
O A Odejide
January 1981,
African journal of medicine and medical sciences,
O Gureje, and
R A Acha, and
O A Odejide
September 1999,
East African medical journal,
O Gureje, and
R A Acha, and
O A Odejide
December 2012,
African health sciences,
O Gureje, and
R A Acha, and
O A Odejide
December 2023,
Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology : the journal of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,
O Gureje, and
R A Acha, and
O A Odejide
February 1981,
Lancet (London, England),
O Gureje, and
R A Acha, and
O A Odejide
February 1969,
Oral surgery, oral medicine, and oral pathology,
O Gureje, and
R A Acha, and
O A Odejide
April 1968,
The West African medical journal and Nigerian practitioner,
O Gureje, and
R A Acha, and
O A Odejide
January 1984,
East African medical journal,
O Gureje, and
R A Acha, and
O A Odejide
September 2003,
West African journal of medicine,
O Gureje, and
R A Acha, and
O A Odejide
August 1995,
Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.),
