EnviHeal

DBQ 55

After considerable deliberation of the information presented, I stand in agreement with Evelyn Bonabone’s decision to seek the assistance of Nahayo, the neighboring village healer. Important to reaching this conclusion, it proved necessary to view this case through the lens of Bonabone, which is vastly different from that of a Westerns lens. Considerations include cultural conditioning, tradition, rituals, practices, myths, and a distrust of Western medicine. Two additional elements that factor into my support is the history of ‘false teeth’ and the fact that “in some African countries 80 percent of people consider traditional healers their primary caregivers” (Borrell, 2014, para, 11). Although new to Uganda (1979), the procedure to treat ‘false teeth’ (aka teething) has roots dating back as early as 1839 (Borrell, 2013). Thus, it is often difficult to erase historical medical misconceptions; especially, in developing countries.

As Westerns, it’s tradition to seek the medical attention of a physician when warranted; thus, as children, we are conditioned to maintain this practice as individuals and parents. The same is true of African population except their cultural conditioning directs them to seek the services of a traditional healer. Essentially, their faith in traditional healer’s parallels Westerns faith in doctors to treat, heal or cure our ills. When framing Uganda’s distrust of Western medicine, it’s important to highlight the fact that the Tuskegee Syphilis Study that began in 1932 and ran through 1972 (40 years). Notably, this study resulted in the mistrust “between African Americans and the biomedical professions; it is argued that the Study is a significant factor in the low participation of African Americans in clinical trials, organ donation efforts, and routine preventive care (Tuskegee Syphilis Study Legacy Committee, 1996, para. 2). Thus, when Western medicine creates lingering mistrust among a specific U.S. population, it makes it easier to understand how distrust can spill over borders. Admittedly, the distrust of the Uganda people does not correlate with this study, it’s provided to showcase the challenges of changing views and gaining trust in matters of medicine. In closing, I would argue that with time, conditioning, and education, further development in African countries will resulting in their evolvement. Thus, resulting in the transition and adoption of modern medicine and a move away from traditional healers.

References

Borrell, B. (2013). Magic or Medicine. Retrieved from https://aeon.co/essays/how-medicine-and-ritual-got-hopelessly-entangled-in-uganda

Tuskegee Syphilis Study Legacy Committee. (1996). Bad blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Retrieved from http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/badblood/report/