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The reinterpretation of Western pharmaceuticals among the Mende of Sierra Leone

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  • Bledsoe, Caroline H.
  • Goubaud, Monica F.

Abstract

The inappropriate use of Western medicines among the Mende of Sierra Leone is addressed as a cultural issue. We show that traditional beliefs about diseases and treatments have provided the explanatory framework for the contemporary Mende in reinterpreting the function of many Western medicines that are available to them. People appear to base their treatment decisions largely on traditional notions of the efficacy of a medicine of a particular color, consistency, taste, size and reputed success in treating analogous illnesses. This helps to explain why people's uses of these medicines are often at odds with Western manufacturer's assumptions about their appropriate uses. Implications of these usesfor local as well as international health are drawn.

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  • Bledsoe, Caroline H. & Goubaud, Monica F., 1985. "The reinterpretation of Western pharmaceuticals among the Mende of Sierra Leone," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 275-282, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:21:y:1985:i:3:p:275-282
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    Cited by:

    1. Craig, Sienna R. & Adams, Lisa V. & Spielberg, Stephen P. & Campbell, Benjamin, 2009. "Pediatric therapeutics and medicine administration in resource-poor settings: A review of barriers and an agenda for interdisciplinary approaches to improving outcomes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 1681-1690, December.
    2. Schumaker, Lynette Louise & Bond, Virginia A., 2008. "Antiretroviral therapy in Zambia: Colours, 'spoiling', 'talk' and the meaning of antiretrovirals," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(12), pages 2126-2134, December.

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