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Accepted Paper
Paper short abstract
On the Fijian island of Ovalau, health outcomes are relatively poor and use of the hospital is limited and often problematically delayed. This paper examines the weight accorded to ethno-medical beliefs, poverty and limited accessibility as variables that shape treatment-seeking decisions on the island.
Paper long abstract
On the regional Fijian island of Ovalau, health problems are understood and treated through a range of medical paradigms: Indigenous Fijian traditions, Christian faith-healing, Indo-Fijian Ayurveda, Western bio-medical science and public health interventions. Yet health outcomes remain relatively poor. Many preventable health conditions are caused - and treatable health conditions are exacerbated - by limited or delayed use of the hospital on the island. This paper draws on preliminary ethnographic data to examine the factors that shape and constrain hospital use in a medically pluralistic landscape. In particular, I examine the weight accorded to ethno-medical beliefs, attitudes towards hospitals, poverty and limited transporting options as variables that shape treatment-seeking decisons in this context of uncertainty and medical pluralism.
Managing medical uncertainty
Session 1