COGNITIVE ORGANIZATION OF DISEASE CONCEPTS IN SINGAPORE

This research investigates illness cognition and its relationship to t he use of different types of medicine in three ethnic groups in Singap ore. Four hundred and twenty-nine Chinese, Malay, and Indian Singapore ans rated 24 diseases as to their similarity. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) indicated three dimensions. Regression of these dimensions agai nst 17 disease attributes suggested that these dimensions represented spiritual/psychological causation, disease severity, and viral causati on. When the dimensions were related to the use of, preference for and perceived effectiveness of different types of medicine it was found t hat Indian medicine tended to be used, preferred and perceived to be m ost effective for diseases low in severity whereas Chinese medicine wa s viewed most favourably for diseases perceived to be low in spiritual /psychological causation as well as those not seen as virally caused. Malay medicine tended to used, preferred and perceived as most effecti ve for conditions believed to be non-serious and not caused by a virus . Western medicine was most likely to be used, preferred, and seen as most effective for diseases viewed as serious as well as those believe d to be virally caused.