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. 2024 Mar;42(1):34-48.
doi: 10.1177/08980101231169867. Epub 2023 Apr 25.

"'We'd Just Patch Ourselves up': Preference for Holistic Approaches to Healthcare and Traditional Medicine among Members of a State-Recognized Tribe"

Sarah E Reese  1 , Angie Dang  2 , Jessica L Liddell  1
Affiliations

"'We'd Just Patch Ourselves up': Preference for Holistic Approaches to Healthcare and Traditional Medicine among Members of a State-Recognized Tribe"

Sarah E Reese et al. J Holist Nurs. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Background:Health disparities between Native Americans and white Americans persist due to a variety of factors, including colonization, poverty, and racism. Racist interpersonal interactions between nurses and other healthcare providers and tribal members may also contribute to reluctance among Native Americans to engage with Western healthcare systems. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to better understand the healthcare experiences of members of a state-recognized Gulf Coast tribe. Methods: In partnership with a community advisory board, 31 semistructured interviews were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed utilizing a qualitative description approach. Results: All participants mentioned their preferences, views about, or experiences of using natural or traditional medicine approaches (referenced 65 times). Emergent themes include (a) preference for and use of traditional medicine; (b) resistance to western healthcare systems; (c) preference for holistic approaches to health; and (d) negative provider interpersonal interactions contributing to reluctance in seeking care. Conclusion: These findings suggest that integrating a holistic conceptualization of health and traditional medicine practices into Western healthcare settings would benefit Native Americans.

Keywords: cultural humility; holistic nursing; indigenous; native American/Alaska native health; traditional medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ Note: The authors thank the members of this tribe for their dedicated work and participation in this research. The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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