000			01952pab a2200193 454500
008			180718b2003 xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100			_aReiff, Marian et al
245			_aEthnomedicine in the urban environment: dominican healers in New York City
260			_c2003
300			_ap.12-26.
362			_aSpring
520			_aNew York City has a large Dominican community that utilizes a variety of traditional healing resources, yet relatively little is known about their ethnomedical concepts and practices. This paper focuses on six Dominican traditional healers who participated in a cross-cultural study on therapies for women's health problems in New York City. Healers were located through community networks and botanical shops and were interviewed about their backgrounds, healing traditions, and therapeutic techniques. Women patients with prior medical diagnoses were taken to the healers for consultations, and healers were interviewed regarding their diagnostic process and treatment recommendations. The paper describes the healers' perspectives on their healing traditions, practices, and treatment approaches. In general, healing traditions are transmitted primarily through older female kin, and healers use a multidimensional, holistic approach to health care. In addition to these similarities, the healers also demonstrate variation in training, diagnostic techniques, and treatment approaches - a feature common to oral healing traditions. We discuss the potential contribution of traditional healers to health care in urban settings and the importance of improving understanding by mainstream medical practitioners of the ethnomedical traditions of their patients from immigrant and minority communities. - Reproduced.
650			_aMedical sciences - United States
650			_aHealth services - United States
650			_aHealing - United States
650			_aHealing
773			_aHuman Organization
909			_a56015
999			_c56015 _d56015