Kumar Dhasarathi, Peter Roshni Mary, Kaur Harpreet, Joseph Alex
School of Public Health, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.
Department of Community Medicine, SRM Medical College and Research Centre, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.
J Family Med Prim Care. 2023 Feb;12(2):371-375. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1648_22. Epub 2023 Feb 28.
Irulas are known for their traditional medicine and healing practices. Ethnomedicine primarily describes the traditional medical approaches that take consideration of the cultural perspectives on health, illness, disease while addressing the delivery of healthcare and therapeutic modalities. The current study explores the ethnomedical practices towards hepatitis among the Irula traditional healers in Tamil Nadu.
A Community-based in-depth interview (IDI) study was conducted among eight traditional healers (5 males and 3 females) from Irula settlements in Dharmapuri, Kancheepuram, and Chengalpattu districts. Apart from traditional healers, 11 Irula adults were interviewed to understand their cultural perspectives on health and illness.
The major themes that emerged from the codes were the perception towards traditional healing and the process of treatment on hepatitis, the list of important conditions treated by the traditional healers, and the list of medicinal plants used for treating people.
This qualitative study highlights the voices of the Irula tribal community and offers a rich source of information about ethnomedicine practices towards hepatitis among the Irula traditional healers in Tamil Nadu, India.
伊鲁拉人以其传统医学和治疗方法而闻名。民族医学主要描述的是在考虑健康、疾病和病症的文化视角的同时，涉及医疗保健的提供和治疗方式的传统医学方法。本研究探讨了印度泰米尔纳德邦伊鲁拉传统治疗师对肝炎的民族医学实践。
在达摩布里、金奈普拉姆和钦加尔帕图地区的伊鲁拉定居点，对八位传统治疗师（五名男性和三名女性）进行了基于社区的深入访谈（IDI）研究。除了传统治疗师外，还采访了11名伊鲁拉成年人，以了解他们对健康和疾病的文化观点。
从编码中得出的主要主题包括对传统治疗的看法以及肝炎的治疗过程、传统治疗师治疗的重要病症清单，以及用于治疗患者的药用植物清单。
这项定性研究突出了伊鲁拉部落社区的声音，并提供了关于印度泰米尔纳德邦伊鲁拉传统治疗师对肝炎的民族医学实践的丰富信息来源。
