Use of Bush Medicine in Treating Cancer Among Aboriginal People in Western Australia
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Shahid et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2010, 6:18 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/6/1/18 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOMEDICINE RESEARCH Open Access "IfResearch you don't believe it, it won't help you": use of bush medicine in treating cancer among Aboriginal people in Western Australia Shaouli Shahid*1,2, Ryan Bleam1, Dawn Bessarab1,2 and Sandra C Thompson1,2,3 Abstract Background: Little is known about the use of bush medicine and traditional healing among Aboriginal Australians for their treatment of cancer and the meanings attached to it. A qualitative study that explored Aboriginal Australians' perspectives and experiences of cancer and cancer services in Western Australia provided an opportunity to analyse the contemporary meanings attached and use of bush medicine by Aboriginal people with cancer in Western Australia Methods: Data collection occurred in Perth, both rural and remote areas and included individual in-depth interviews, observations and field notes. Of the thirty-seven interviews with Aboriginal cancer patients, family members of people who died from cancer and some Aboriginal health care providers, 11 participants whose responses included substantial mention on the issue of bush medicine and traditional healing were selected for the analysis for this paper. Results: The study findings have shown that as part of their healing some Aboriginal Australians use traditional medicine for treating their cancer. Such healing processes and medicines were preferred by some because it helped reconnect them with their heritage, land, culture and the spirits of their ancestors, bringing peace of mind during their illness. Spiritual beliefs and holistic health approaches and practices play an important role in the treatment choices for some patients. Conclusions: Service providers need to acknowledge and understand the existence of Aboriginal knowledge (epistemology) and accept that traditional healing can be an important addition to an Aboriginal person's healing complementing Western medical treatment regimes. Allowing and supporting traditional approaches to treatment reflects a commitment by modern medical services to adopting an Aboriginal-friendly approach that is not only culturally appropriate but assists with the cultural security of the service. Introduction worldwide[2]. While these health systems in various parts Indigenous Peoples' concept of health and survival is both of the world share certain characteristics that distinguish the collective and individual inter-generational contin- them from biomedicine, approaches to health and heal- uum encompassing a holistic perspective incorporating ing are diverse and changing over time. Nevertheless, four distinct shared dimensions of life, which are the spiri- some commonalities can be distinguished [3]. In Austra- tual, intellectual, physical, and emotional. Linking these lia (as elsewhere), Aboriginal people have relied on plants four fundamental dimensions, health and survival mani- for many of their needs, including as a medicine in treat- fests itself on multiple levels where the past, present and ing their ailments[4]. Aboriginal and Torres Strait future co-exist simultaneously[1] Islander people are the Indigenous people and original The holistic health care system has been practiced by inhabitants of Australia. In this paper, 'Aboriginal' has people from different ethnic and cultural background been used to refer to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are traditional inhabitants and * Correspondence: [email protected] Indigenous people of Australia. 'Indigenous' has been 1 Centre for International Health, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth WA used when we refer to descendents of the native or first 6845, Australia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article nation inhabitants of other countries prior to European © 2010 Shahid et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Shahid et al. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2010, 6:18 Page 2 of 9 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/6/1/18 colonisation. Since colonisation, the lifestyles of Aborigi- erature suggests that the incidence of various cancers is nal Australians have endured significant change through lower in surveillance research data[16,17] in part due to dispossession of land, social disruption, racism, cultural the misclassification of Aboriginal status in cancer regis- suppression and discriminatory government policies[5]. tries[18]. Additionally, as a small minority of the total Consequently, people's usage of plants and maintenance Australian population[16], it is difficult to provide statis- of traditional cultural beliefs and practices, including tra- tically significant figures for Aboriginal Australians. ditional medicine and healing practices[6] have varied Selected data are available for some cancers, including a according to the impact of colonisation on their connec- five times higher mortality rate for women's cervical can- tion to country and culture. Previous research confirming cer[16], and almost two times higher incidence rate of the use of traditional medicines[6,7] by Indigenous peo- liver cancer than that of non-Aboriginal Australians. The ple have recognized that failure to understand and com- limited available data highlights a need for more attention municate about such usage may result in patients' to be given to Aboriginal cancer. dissatisfaction and non-compliance with existing bio- Aboriginal Australians with cancer are twice as likely to medical treatment services[8,9]. This however, has not die from the disease than non-Aboriginal Australians[19]. translated to mainstream health service providers who This could be due to the fact that Aboriginal people are appear to have little recognition and acknowledgement of diagnosed later than their non-Aboriginal counterparts; the belief in and use of traditional healing practices and have poorer continuity of care and a lower compliance medicines by Indigenous patients[10,11]. with treatment[15,20]. They also suffer from cancers This analysis arose in the context of a research project which generally have a poor prognosis but are largely pre- that aimed to explore the beliefs, understanding and ventable[15]. The late diagnosis has been attributed to a meaning of cancer to Aboriginal people in Western Aus- general fear of check-ups and screenings[21,22]. Some of tralia (WA) and their experiences with cancer services. the traditional beliefs surrounding sources of illness attri- Although the use of bush medicine was not a particular bute the cause of disease to acts of spiritual punishment, focus of the study a number of participants raised the sorcery, payback, taking something from country or tres- issue of using traditional healers and bush medicine for passing on a significant site[23,24]. Payback and sorcery cancer during their interviews. may be bestowed upon those who do not fulfil social obli- This paper provides an overview of the use of bush gations or break a moral taboo[25]. These forms of cul- medicine and traditional healing amongst Aboriginal tural punishments could explain the reluctance of some Australians for their treatment of cancer and the meaning Aboriginal people to seek early intervention for their ill- attached to it and argues for health service providers to ness due to a fear of community shame. Although such recognize its importance in the life of Aboriginal people, beliefs are primarily held in remote and traditional areas, especially during consultation. Effective and culturally these views are also held by urban and metropolitan sensitive health care provision for Indigenous communi- Aboriginal populations[25,26]. ties requires respect for patients' beliefs and practices of Late diagnosis and discontinuity of treatment can also healing. Healing is 'a process that brings parts of one's self occur due to the fact that the hospital setting is a source (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual) together' of social unease for Aboriginal patients[25,27]. The prac- which 'can result in an integrated and balanced whole titioner's waiting room can present as a foreign environ- self'[12]. Thus, it includes ceremonies, traditions, values ment where Aboriginal patients may experience and ideas related to Indigenous culture[12]. There exists themselves as outsiders in a sterilized, Western clinical limited written information on such healing traditions in setting. Additionally the thought of a 'private consulta- Aboriginal Australian communities as secrecy and mysti- tion' singles out the patient and creates further discom- cism are attached to the use and origin of such practices fort and shame. As many studies [6,25,27,28] have and medicines. pointed out, shame (a violation of cultural or social values so it is possible to feel ashamed of thought or behavior Aboriginal Australians and Cancer that no one knows about) is a unique and powerful emo- In recent years there has been an increased priority given tion to Aboriginal Australians. Another form of shame to Aboriginal cancer in mainstream health[13]. When can come from gender-specific issues and the resistance compared to the difference in life expectancy between to being examined or having to talk about symptoms