Traditional healers in Swaziland: toward improved cooperation between the traditional and modern health sectors.

The paper describes applied research efforts, requested by the Swaziland Ministry of Health and funded by U.S. AID, aimed at providing an information base for new government policies regarding traditional healers in Swaziland. Information reported relates to: health care manpower in the traditional sector; treatment seeking behavior in a pluralistic medical setting; traditional health beliefs and practices; payment practices; patterns of patient referral; attempts to establish an association of healers; attitudes of healers toward paraprofessional training; and possibilities for specific types of cooperation between modern and traditional health sectors.