USE OF NATIVE-AMERICAN HEALERS AMONG NATIVE-AMERICAN PATIENTS IN AN URBAN NATIVE-AMERICAN HEALTH-CENTER

To gain an understanding of the prevalence, utilization patterns, and practice implications of the use of Native American healers together w ith the use of physicians, we conducted semistructured interviews at a n urban Indian Health Service clinic in Milwaukee, Wise, of a convenie nce sample of 150 patients at least 18 years old. The mean age of pati ents was 40 years, and the sex distribution was 68.7% women and 31.3% men. Thirty tribal affiliations were represented, the largest groups b eing Ojibwa (20.7%), Oneida (20.0%), Chippewa (11.3%), and Menominee ( 8.0%). We measured the number of patients seeing healers and gathered information on the types of healers, the ceremonies used for healing, the reasons for seeing healers, and whether patients discuss with thei r physicians their use of healers. We found that 38.0% of the patients see a healer, and of those who do not, 86.0% would consider seeing on e in the future. Most patients report seeing a healer for spiritual re asons. The most frequently visited healers were herbalists, spiritual healers, and medicine men. Sweat lodge ceremonies, spiritual healing, and herbal remedies were the most common treatments. More than a third of the patients seeing healers received different advice from their p hysicians and healers. The patients rate their healer's advice higher than their physician's advice 61.4% of the time. Only 14.8% of the pat ients seeing healers tell their physician about their use. We conclude that physicians should be aware that their Native American patients m ay be using alternative forms of treatment, and they should open a res pectful and culturally sensitive dialogue about this use with their pa tients.