Représentations socioculturelles et prise en soins des patients atteints de la cataracte à Ntui: contribution à une anthropologie médicale

Abstract

This Master's academic work in medical anthropology is titled "Sociocultural Representations and Care for Patients with Cataracts in Ntui : Contribution to Medical Anthropology." It explores the sociocultural representations associated with this disease and analyzes how these perceptions influence patient care. The research question is reformulated as follows: What are the sociocultural representations and therapeutic trajectories of patients with cataracts in the city of Ntui ? From this main question, specific questions arise, namely: What are the sociocultural representations of cataracts in the city of Ntui ? What are the reasons for the choices of therapeutic pathways in the care of cataracts in Ntui ? What is the impact or influence of social representations that determine the choice of therapeutic trajectories from Onyang to Ntui ? The main hypothesis can be stated as follows: Therapeutic pathways result from the understanding of the disease and the cultural context. Individuals choose their therapeutic pathways based on their knowledge of the disease. The specific hypotheses are presented as follows: These representations of Onyang are related to cultural belonging; the population of Ntui uses various therapeutic resources in the search for Onyang care. These choices are strongly influenced by social representations of the disease. Each category of thought is linked to a healthcare system; one can identify biomedical resources, ethnomedical approaches, and self-medication tendencies. Therapeutic resources are responses to representations of the disease. The main objective of this research is to study the sociocultural representations as well as the therapeutic trajectories in the city of Ntui. As for the subsidiary objectives, it is a matter of identifying the sociocultural representations held by the Ossananga of Onyang, presenting the different therapeutic pathways and the reasons underlying these choices, and analyzing the influence of sociocultural perceptions underlying the choice of therapeutic trajectories. A qualitative survey was conducted through in-depth individual interviews and the analysis of observation data with patients, their families, and practitioners of traditional and modern medicine. Therefore, this research mobilized two theories, namely Moscovici's theory of social representation and Laplantine's etiological-therapeutic model. In summary, we have arrived at the following results: Sociocultural representations of Onyang in Ntui are varied and often influenced by traditional beliefs. In Ntui, it is commonly accepted that cataracts have mystical or spiritual causes, which leads some individuals with this disease to prefer traditional treatments, such as consultations with healers and the practice of self-medication, including the use of herbal remedies in particular. This study highlights the importance of taking into account sociocultural representations in the design and implementation of public health programs.