Onbevoegde genezers en hun patienten: afwijkend gedrag in de gezondheidszorg

Samenvatting

Since 1865, the practice of medicine in the Netherlands has been the monopoly of md's. Nonetheless, surveys have shown that for certain cities, the number of people who have at some time consulted healers who were not legally md's was between 20% and 25%. It is estimated that there are approximately 500 healers in the Netherlands. This may be related to the existence of culturally disinherited groups of people such as those who are themselves healers, those who cannot or think they cannot be healed by modern medicine, and those who have some type of repulsion to modern medicine. Healers often belonged to a religious sect. A positive correlation was found between visits to the md and visits to a healer, demonstrating that the two are not mutually exclusive. One of the strongest incentives to visit a healer is the lay referral system, where those who need medical attention go to friends for advice as to whether they should go to an md, and which md they should go to. This system may also refer people to a healer. There was no correlation found between education and consultations with healers. It would appear from the number of people who have visited healers that this activity may not be viewed as deviant by a majority of the population. As long as modern medicine cannot heal all ailments, there will be people who visit healers. It is hoped that this will happen in the open and under some kind of control. P. Tiersma