Folkhealer — Patient Interaction in Indonesia

Abstract

During the last decade dissatisfaction and discontent with the quality of the medical care delivery services provided by the formal sector of modern health care, and the failure of modern medicine to provide quick and effective answers to the problems raised by chro-nicity induced practicing physicians and scientists of various professional backgrounds to try to reassess the basic tenets held by modern biomedicine, and look for alternative ways to improve health care. A surge of interest in traditional healing methods recently emerged among physicians and social scientists. Efforts are being made to understand and explain the sustained respect indigenous healing has been able to maintain in the eyes of the public. Systematic inquiries are now being held on the effectivity of the herbal medicinal armamentarium of the healer, as well as the diverse psychological approaches and cultural factors involved in the healing process.