| Zvinorwadza: Being a patient in the religious and medical plurality of the Mberengwa district, Zimbabwe Contributor(s): Dahlin, Olov (Author) |
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ISBN: 3631395760 ISBN-13: 9783631395769 Publisher: Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der W OUR PRICE: $101.23 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: October 2002 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Religion | Christian Theology - General - Religion | History - Social Science | Anthropology - General |
| LCCN: 2003275302 |
| Series: Europaeische Hochschulschriften / European University Studie |
| Physical Information: 0.63" H x 5.83" W x 8.27" (0.79 lbs) 298 pages |
| Themes: - Religious Orientation - Christian |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Zvinorwadza, a very common formulation heard among patients in the Mberengwa district, Zimbabwe, means it is painful or it hurts . This book deals with patients in a rural area of southern Africa and poses two basic questions: What does it mean to be ill in this part of the world and what do patients' life-worlds look like? Patients' illness experiences are described with the word pain, anxiety and sometimes despair; their social situations are often marked by vulnerability, exposedness and insecurity which apply to both genders, but particulary to women; their help-seeking behaviour is characterised by pragmatism, complementarity and plurality; their conceptions about illnesses and aetiologies involve qualities of uncertainty, flexibility and multidimensionality; and, finally, patients' treatment experiences can be depicted in three words: some experienced ease, others complete healing, while a significant group of the multi-episodical patients experienced non-deliverance. It is concluded that the phenomena illness and healing need to be regarded holistically and that it is of crucial importance to acknowledge patients' own ideas concerning these issues. |