Healthcare, Negotiation, and Power in Agate, Ghana: ‘All I Need is Help to do Well’

Eileen M Smith-Cavros; Joyce Y Avotri-Wuaku

Healthcare, Negotiation, and Power in Agate, Ghana: ‘All I Need is Help to do Well’

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies

Research output: Contribution to conference › Presentation

Abstract

This research examined illness and ways of negotiating health treatment from sociological and anthropological perspectives using qualitative methods in Agate, Ghana. Researchers interviewed 29 men and women over 50 years of age about whether and how they treated recent illnesses and with what results. Several themes arose from the interviews. Many critical obstacles to successful health treatment existed. However, participants creatively used various methods to try to negotiate a flawed healthcare system as best as they could. Participants blended religious/spiritual approaches including herbs, fasting, and prayer with western medicines, increased dependence on their social networks, and used various components of Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to varying degrees.

Original language	American English
State	Published - Feb 11 2016
Event	CAHSS Intellectual Conversations - Nova Southeastern University, Davie, United States Duration: Jul 1 2015 → Jun 30 2016

Seminar

Seminar	CAHSS Intellectual Conversations
Country/Territory	United States
City	Davie
Period	7/1/15 → 6/30/16

Disciplines

African History
African Languages and Societies
African Studies
Alternative and Complementary Medicine
Anthropology
Biological and Physical Anthropology
Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Health Services Research
International Public Health
Medicine and Health
Medicine and Health Sciences
Public Health
Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies
Religion
Sociology

Cite this

@conference{dc08ea18e57c4ba9a1275712e1e01687,

title = "Healthcare, Negotiation, and Power in Agate, Ghana: {\textquoteleft}All I Need is Help to do Well{\textquoteright}",

abstract = " This research examined illness and ways of negotiating health treatment from sociological and anthropological perspectives using qualitative methods in Agate, Ghana. Researchers interviewed 29 men and women over 50 years of age about whether and how they treated recent illnesses and with what results. Several themes arose from the interviews. Many critical obstacles to successful health treatment existed. However, participants creatively used various methods to try to negotiate a flawed healthcare system as best as they could. Participants blended religious/spiritual approaches including herbs, fasting, and prayer with western medicines, increased dependence on their social networks, and used various components of Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to varying degrees.",

author = "Smith-Cavros, \{Eileen M\} and Avotri-Wuaku, \{Joyce Y\}",

year = "2016",

month = feb,

day = "11",

language = "American English",

note = "CAHSS Intellectual Conversations ; Conference date: 01-07-2015 Through 30-06-2016",

}

TY - CONF

T1 - Healthcare, Negotiation, and Power in Agate, Ghana: ‘All I Need is Help to do Well’

AU - Smith-Cavros, Eileen M

AU - Avotri-Wuaku, Joyce Y

PY - 2016/2/11

Y1 - 2016/2/11

N2 - This research examined illness and ways of negotiating health treatment from sociological and anthropological perspectives using qualitative methods in Agate, Ghana. Researchers interviewed 29 men and women over 50 years of age about whether and how they treated recent illnesses and with what results. Several themes arose from the interviews. Many critical obstacles to successful health treatment existed. However, participants creatively used various methods to try to negotiate a flawed healthcare system as best as they could. Participants blended religious/spiritual approaches including herbs, fasting, and prayer with western medicines, increased dependence on their social networks, and used various components of Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to varying degrees.

AB - This research examined illness and ways of negotiating health treatment from sociological and anthropological perspectives using qualitative methods in Agate, Ghana. Researchers interviewed 29 men and women over 50 years of age about whether and how they treated recent illnesses and with what results. Several themes arose from the interviews. Many critical obstacles to successful health treatment existed. However, participants creatively used various methods to try to negotiate a flawed healthcare system as best as they could. Participants blended religious/spiritual approaches including herbs, fasting, and prayer with western medicines, increased dependence on their social networks, and used various components of Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to varying degrees.

UR - https://nsuworks.nova.edu/far_fls/ay2015-2016/lectures/6

M3 - Presentation

T2 - CAHSS Intellectual Conversations

Y2 - 1 July 2015 through 30 June 2016

ER -

Healthcare, Negotiation, and Power in Agate, Ghana: ‘All I Need is Help to do Well’

Abstract

Seminar

Disciplines

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this