A traditional healers' training model in rural Nepal: strengthening their roles in community health

Abstract

In this paper, we evaluated a western medical training model for traditional healers (THs) in rural Nepal. We used semi-structured interviews to compare 48 trainees with 30 randomly selected untrained THs, 1 year after the training was completed. We asked them about their knowledge of the causes, prevention and treatment of common illnesses and HIV/AIDS, and their relationship with government health workers (GHWs) in the area. Nine GHWs were also interviewed about their perceptions of THs. We found that trained THs had a better knowledge of allopathic medicine, practised modern treatment using first aid kits, and were more likely to refer patients to GHWs. They also improved their relationships with the GHWs. Up-scaling this model is a challenge for improving community health care in Nepal in the future.