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Although substantial evidence is now accumulating that some African peoples readily accept advice and help about health from both modern medical and traditional sources, this has not yet happened with – what is arguably the major health problem in many parts of Africa – AIDS. We asked 175 of Malawi′s undergraduates what sources they judged to be credible with regard to information on preventing and clinically managing AIDS. While traditional healers were seen on average to be less credible than modern health professionals (doctors and nurses), there was no correspondence between credibility of traditional healers and modern health professionals. Thus a strong belief in the credibility of modern health professionals was not associated with low credibility ratings for traditional healers. Our findings provide further support for “tropical tolerance”, especially as regards a pluralistic (modern and traditional together) approach to the prevention of AIDS. Given the over‐stretched health services in Malawi and many other African countries, a pluralistic approach to AIDS prevention could be a credible and economic use of indigenous human resources.

This study aims to investigate the indigenous healing space in South Africa, by zooming in on the confusions that are faced by young people in the country. These muddles are a result of the country’s colonial and apartheid history which left the population divided between the Western and African philosophies when it comes to health among other things. The recent technological developments which are embraced by some of the healers exposed the space to exploitation by criminal elements.

This qualitative study used content analysis and interviews to gather data.

The results suggest that the indigenous healing space in South Africa is poorly regulated and a fertile breeding ground for criminals. As a result, it is not easy to distinguish between genuine healers and bogus ones. The technological advancement, especially social media, has exposed the space to further exploitation by criminal elements.

This study paints a picture of the indigenous healing space in the age of technology in South Africa. This study further explains challenges faced by South Africans in navigating philosophical challenges influenced by their colonial past.

The purpose of this study is to investigate psychotherapists’ perspectives on collaborations with curanderxs that may improve patient outcomes. All participants have licensed psychotherapists (marriage and family therapist, social work and psychology), between ages 40 and 60 years, and spoke both English and Spanish. They had a wide range of experience practicing in the field (5 to 33 years), the number of clients they had worked with of Mexican descent (10 to 2,000), and times they had collaborated with curanderxs (2 to 3 to more than 40). Interviews lasted 2 h.

Phenomenological methodology was followed in conducting interviews with eight mainstream mental health practitioners and in identifying codes and themes from the interviews.

Collaboration between psychotherapists and curanderxs is rare. Few mental health training programs provide basic information on curanderismo or on how clinicians might integrate concepts related to indigenous healing approaches into their practices or collaborate with traditional healers. Substantial mistrust between psychotherapists and curanderxs is apparent and impedes collaboration.

The authors believe this to be one of the first integrative models that can provide guidance to services providers who would like to collaborate with traditional healers, not only with Latinx populations but also populations that seek traditional healers for physical, psychological and spiritual healing. Based on study findings, the authors offer educational, clinical and public policy recommendations.

Indigenous health care models have continued to play significant roles in the development and sustenance of livelihoods in African communities. Such models are used not only to provide affordable community health care services but also as an employment resource for traditional practitioners within African communities. Yet, for lack of documentation and lack of discussion in the management and Indigenous Knowledge System literature, the models are hardly incorporated into the official health care services of African countries. This chapter addresses this problem by documenting the benefits and merits of the entrepreneurial principles embedded in the Tsonga traditional health care practice. First, it highlights how the unique indigenous traditional model is used for administering health care in a selected Tsonga-speaking community in South Africa. Second, it analyses the entrepreneurial principles embedded in the model. Finally, it discusses how such principles have been used as tools for entrepreneurship and enhancing the economic upkeep of the traditional health care practitioners (THPs). The chapter's main argument is that even though the Tsonga traditional health care practice model is complex, mystical, and in most cases challenging to explain to a non-native, it presents a great entrepreneurial opportunity for South Africa.

Products of medicinal plants play significant roles in management of diseases. Their accessibility through trade plays a key role in health, economic and livelihood improvement. However, the traceability of the production process from their source in Tanzania is lacking. This study aims to depicture the production process of formulated products of medicinal plants.

The study applied the value chain theory using qualitative data from literature review and survey to practitioners of traditional medicine. Survey data were collected through 15 in-depth interviews and ten focus group discussions in five regions of Tanzania.

Input to output structure is performed through a five actors' value chain. The raw material is provided by harvesters who collected medicinal plants from wild. The processing is conducted by wholesalers and formulators. The wholesalers add value by drying, milling and bulk packaging of individual medicinal plants. Formulators mix different medicinal plants to create readymade products for specified diseases. Distribution is done by retailers and healers. There were six regulating and two supporting organizations. Private supporters were millers and transporters. Governance structure was deduced to be relational. Relational governance was a result of lack official standards along the value chain.

The described value chain can be used to guide investments in production of products of medicinal plants by improving formulation technology.

The connection between women’s empowerment and health has been a growing concern among demographers and other social scientists, who theorize that empowering women – or enhancing their ability to define and make strategic life choices – will improve their reproductive health (Kabeer, 1999). The importance of empowering women became a central theme at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994. The Cairo policy document codified the notion that women must be empowered in order for them and societies as a whole reach their reproductive health goals, including lowering fertility and population growth, stemming the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS, and ensuring healthy pregnancy and delivery (Hodgson & Watkins, 1997; Sen & Batliwala, 2000).

The term “Mental health literacy” is defined as knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management or prevention. The importance of health literacy for physical health is widely studied; however, the area of mental health literacy in Pakistan has been comparatively neglected. The purpose of this paper is to address the knowledge about mental health in people living in Pakistan.

Relevant literature relating to mental health literacy was identified through various database searches. The databases searched included: PubMed, Cochrane database of Systemic Reviews, PsycINFO using the terms mental health, mental health literacy, mental health education, Pakistan.

Literature suggests that there is dearth of knowledge about mental illnesses and their treatment among public. This review also highlights the importance of mental health literacy among professionals working in the field of health care. In Pakistan, due to low literacy rate, a high percentage of poverty and dearth of trained professionals warrants an emendation in approaches established for attaining the goal of public health and psychiatric care.

Findings have implications for practitioners in the field of mental health care as well as designing targeted interventions for enhancing mental health literacy and help-seeking behavior in the future.

A limited understanding and lack of improvement in mental health literacy may interfere with society’s acceptance of evidence-based mental health care which may hamper the delivery of adequate mental health services to the needy.

Improving mental health literacy is a key component of any population-based mental health program, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Effective strategies to increase awareness and reduce stigma associated with mental health are sparse and have not been evaluated in India or among other low- and middle-income countries. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The review was based on the literature obtained from articles identified by searches of Medline, PubMed, and Google (Scholar) with the Mesh terms “mental health literacy”, “developing countries,” and “audience segmentation” between 1979 and 2012. Information was also obtained by interacting with experts in the field of health communication and public health, one of whom (M.K.) is a co-author.

Systematic reviews of studies among occidental countries have proposed that targeted approaches to mental health literacy are not only more effective, but also more cost-effective than general population approaches. Using audience segmentation to target distinct population sub-groups is a well-established best practice in health communication, is recommended for low resource settings and in situations with a limited budget, and may be especially effective when based on socio-cultural variables.

Yet to date it has not been applied in India for mental-health-related communication. The need for such cost-effective, innovative, and equitable strategies for mental health literacy is the cornerstone to mitigate stigma associated with mental illness, and improve awareness among a proportionately illiterate population.

The purpose of this case study is to describe the experiences of a development organization operating in Africa to make mental health services accessible to communities in Kenya and Uganda through partnerships. The lessons that can be learnt from this work are also considered.

The paper is a case study that builds on operations research gathered over five to seven years by the authors who have managed the country mental health programmes in Uganda and Kenya. The case study describes the problem of mental illness and its magnitude in Kenya and Uganda, and why it is important that this is addressed. Existing mechanisms in place and gaps in current service provision are also discussed.

Methods used to address gaps in current service provision include capacitating different service providers, their roles and their contribution to community mental health. The inclusion and training of non‐psychiatrists can contribute to the management, treatment and recovery of people with mental health problems in African communities.

The case study is limited in its applicability in full to other low to middle income countries (LMICs). Causality cannot be established between improvement in access and training of the different health service providers.

The case study gives practical experiences that practitioners in LMICs can further test in improving access to community‐based mental health services. These experiences can help to form a promising practice in how LMICs can reduce health workforce gaps in mental health and planners can consider using this to reduce such gaps.

The case study shows how the participation of service users and other stakeholders and using family resources can bring ownership and sustainability of mental health care at the community level.

The case study adds value to practice and social development theories and models of care.

The implementation of mobile health (mHealth) in developing countries seems to be stuck in a pattern of successive pilot studies that struggle for mainstream implementation. This study addresses the research question: what existing health-related structures, properties and practices are presented by rural areas of developing countries that might inhibit the implementation of mHealth initiatives?

This study was conducted using a socio-material approach, based on an exploratory case study in West Africa. Interviews and participant observation were used to gather data. A thematic analysis identified important social and material agencies, practices and imbrications which may limit the effectiveness of mHealth apps in the region.

Findings show that, while urban healthcare is highly structured, best practice-led, rural healthcare relies on peer-based knowledge sharing, and community support. This has implications for the enacted materiality of mobile technologies. While urban actors see mHealth as a tool for automation and the enforcement of responsible healthcare best practice, rural actors see mHealth as a tool for greater interconnectivity and independent, decentralised care.

This study has two significant limitations. First, the study focussed on a region where technology-enabled guideline-driven treatment is the main mHealth concern. Second, consistent with the exploratory nature of this study, the qualitative methodology and the single-case design, the study makes no claim to statistical generalisability.

To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to adopt a socio-material view that considers existing structures and practices that may influence the widespread adoption and assimilation of a new mHealth app. This helps identify contextual challenges that are limiting the potential of mHealth to improve outcomes in rural areas of developing countries.