Volume 29, Issue 2, April 2015, Pages 83–89
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Abstract
In
order to provide culturally authentic healthcare, psychiatric–mental
health nurses and other professionals must familiarize themselves with
the culture-specific syndromes, idioms of distress, beliefs and
practices that may present among the diverse patient groups with whom
they work. Psychiatric conditions relating to the Jamaican belief in
“Obeah” are specific, culturally-interpreted phenomena that psychiatric
nurses may encounter among Jamaican patients. This paper describes the
phenomenon of Obeah and its influences on the worldview of life, health,
illness; psychiatric conditions in the form of culture-bound syndromes;
and help-seeking behaviors throughout Jamaican cultural communities.
Inability to understand the obeah-illness concept from a
culturally-interpreted perspective may be constrictive and result in
less-than-optimal care. Armed with the knowledge of the concept of Obeah
from a core belief perspective, how it influences psychiatric
presentations, and embracing its significance to the Jamaican health
belief model will assist in building a workable, caring, best-practice
framework aimed toward a clinical and practice paradigm for this unique
folk-health belief system.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
