Objective: to study the motives, behavior, and liability of seeking traditional healers (THs) for movement disorders (MDs) cases in Egypt compared to Somalia

Background: Neurological diseases are among the most common medical disorders that might be misinterpreted by ordinary people making them seek THs. To the best of our knowledge, data about seeking THs by patients with MDs are lacking in Egypt and to an extent in Somalia.

Method: The current study was conducted on MD patients from Egypt, and Somalia during the period from June-2022 to Jan-2023. A total of 87 patients with MDs, both genders, ≥18 years old, were recruited. All patients were subjected to a semi-structured Questionnaire for knowledge, attitude to, and perception of MDs, and seeking THs. The questionnaire was in Arabic and Somalese.

Results: A total of 87 cases, 63 (72.4%) from Egypt and 24 (27.6%) from Somalia were recruited. 26 (54%) of the Egyptian patients were THs seekers compared to 10 (31%) of Somalese patients. Males accounted for 61 (70.1%) of the entire sample. Seeking THs tended to be more common in females (57.7%). 35 patients were residents of rural areas 82.9% of them were THs seekers, 52 patients were residents of urban areas 13.5% of them were THs seekers. Patients with low educational status who were THs seekers were significantly higher than patients with high educational status. The percentage of cases who believed the reason behind the symptoms was envy/ Eye /superpowers/ Evil spirits/magi in the overall sample was higher in the THs seekers than in the non-seekers. On subgroup analysis, 20 patients were diagnosed with hypokinetic disorders in Egypt, 11 (55%) out of them were THs seekers, compared to 43 patients who were diagnosed with hyperkinetic disorders, 15 (34.9%) out of them were THs seekers. In Somalia, 16 patients were diagnosed with hypokinetic disorders, 6 (37.5%) out of them were THs seekers, compared to 8 patients diagnosed with hyperkinetic disorders, 4 (50%) out of them were THs seekers.

Conclusion: The current study showed that seeking THs is still prevalent. Our work showed that seeking THs is commoner in rural areas, among females, and those with low educational levels.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/seeking-traditional-healers-in-movement-disorders-a-pilot-study-in-two-african-countries/